


Dreams & Fantasies

by Bravehardt, Foxglove_Fiction



Category: Doctor Strange (2016), Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Blindfolds, Blow Jobs, Canon Divergence - Doctor Strange, Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Don't copy to another site, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotions are Complicated, Everyone Needs A Hug, Fluff and Angst, Heavy Drinking, Latex, Light BDSM, M/M, Masturbation, Miscommunication, Pay to Play, Pepper Potts Is a Good Bro, Prostitution, Scars, Sex Magic, Sex Work, Stephen Strange Needs a Hug, Switches, Tony Stark Needs a Hug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-11-22
Packaged: 2021-01-02 21:44:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 37,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21168350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bravehardt/pseuds/Bravehardt, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foxglove_Fiction/pseuds/Foxglove_Fiction
Summary: In the aftermath of Civil War, Tony's finding himself struggling with trusting or relying on things in his life. With the recognition that there's no way of being used unknowingly in a brothel, Tony attempts to take some no-strings-attached solace in the arms of a sex worker - the problem is, there are a lot more strings than Tony anticipated.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here we are again with another 5 chapter short fic, updating every Friday! This is an idea that I (Amy) almost just ditched by the wayside, only for Astral to be like "No, wait, we can write this. Let's write this!" so... all credit and love to Astral for getting the fire burning under this one. Finally, it's written and the time has come to share this! Just so that we're clear, there is no distinct salt or anti-Cap sentiments, only the brief reflection of issues Tony's having in the aftermath of Civil War. 💜 So Team Cap should be pretty safe here!

"Sir, your whiskey."

A woman dressed in a dark black suit and skirt handed Tony his drink in a large elegant hollow crystal glass with roughly a couple ounces of malt scotch on the rocks. The amber liquid sloshed as he tilted the glass too and fro, hyper-fixating on the spinning liquid before taking a sip and looking down to the catalogue in his lap.

The businessman's fingers flipped through the 'menu' of what the establishment had to offer. He sat, one leg over the other, back against the black leather couch as he flicked through a book of candidates, eyeing each one with a surprising lack of judgment.

His expression almost seemed to be glazed-over as he dredged through pages and pages of attractive-looking men, women, and non-binary folks. Some buff, others twinkish, some elegant, and still others so androgynous he didn’t bother to guess. Regardless, the establishment had a unique assortment of faces and people from all over, known widely for their quality and service when it came down to the details. There was a flavour for every type and any individual with a substantial amount of disposable income would no doubt find the cherry to their ice-cream sundae here.

Although he was here to distract himself, he felt almost out of touch with his endeavours. Violent flashes of metal-on-metal as Tony vividly recalled the vibranium shield coming down, splitting the carapace of his armour and exposing him. The recognition of betrayal as the once idolized Captain America, the man of his nation, seemed intent on keeping down the secret of his parent's demise, despite how often Howard had spoken with admiration of the man.

He let out a deep breath, flipping a page and trying to distract himself from his own thoughts.

There were things that could be believed in and things that couldn’t. The one thing he knew for certain was that coming to a place like this meant he knew exactly what he was in for. The lies were something to be easily aware of in advance, the idea of being used was mutual and mutually beneficial - he needed that now. Truth. Awareness. 

Tony Stark was not typically a man who needed to pay for attention, but at this point, he had to acknowledge that this wasn’t about paying for physical intimacy so much as paying for the peace of mind. 

“Do you need more time? Or is there anything else I can get for you in the meantime, sir?” the woman smiled politely as he glanced up at her again and gave a small smile of his own.

“A little longer, thank you.”

“Of course. I’ll come to check in on you again shortly. Please take as much time as you need,” she gave a brief curtsey - and it vaguely occurred to him how long it had been since he’d seen a woman curtsey - before she made her way out of the lounge he was occupying.

Warm whiskey eyes settled on the book in his lap again as he took another sip of his drink as he tried his best to concentrate. Names and faces flashed by vaguely in passing, some of them catching his eye and giving him a little hint of amusement. They certainly weren’t stripper names, but the names in the book kept him entertained now and then. 

Mindy Loo, Holly Wood, Richard Cockson… the businessman chuckled to himself before a face caught his eye more than a name.

‘Vincent Stevens’ caused to double-take. 

He looked far too familiar, a face that haunted his dreams now and again, and yet he couldn’t quite determine whether or not it was who he thought it was. It had been about eight years since he’d seen the man but he barely looked any different - though, facial hair definitely had ways of changing his face.

As much of a surprise as spotting the supposed familiar face was, it unveiled equally fond memories of his past with the man he was so certain was the same from so many years ago. Dark brown hair, an angular yet soft face, sharp and pronounced cheekbones, tightly angled eyes and the most definitive and unmistakable features of them all - those silver streaks that reached from just above his cheeks around to the back of his head, a feature he'd seen on no others his age.

Tony idly tapped the heavy cardstock page and thought for a moment. 

Soon enough he was lost in thought of times spent together, dates. They were good friends once - best friends even, and if Afghanistan hadn't happened perhaps he might have asked the man out, eventually. 

Stephen was someone he'd lost contact with as security tightened around him and his focus turned to heroism and righting the wrongs of his past, and he reminisced about their time together, sighing at the idea of what they could have been.

Things were never the same after Afghanistan though, everything changed and personal relations were no exception. 

Tony blamed himself for it to a degree.

Regardless, he couldn't shake the boyish spark in his heart as he thought about his old crush. He didn't think he'd entirely gotten over it and found himself pressed to confirm if this was the man he thought it was. It just seemed so impossible to him that a man with aspirations of being a renowned neurosurgeon ended up at some point working in a high-end brothel.

A further scan of the page gave him a partial answer as he saw the pointed note that the man was limited in performing certain tasks due to an injury. This wasn’t some kind of temporary note - rather it was embedded in the short blurb about the man’s body and sexual interests, leaving Tony to wonder at how long this had been an issue.

He pulled his phone from his pocket to quickly bring up some information on the man in some hope of finding out what had happened though, without knowing when or what kind of injury, it was hard to find much of anything. 

Stephen was listed in a medical journal as having performed a groundbreaking surgery less than a year ago, but despite having apparently made a name for himself the man wasn’t some celebrity doctor and information was scarce.

“How are you doing, sir?” the woman from before interrupted his search and Tony tucked his phone away again as he looked up at her. “Have you made a selection?”

“Stephen,” he stated without really thinking about it, and between the page being open and the fact that the man’s fake surname was ‘Stevens’ apparently it was enough for the woman to put his request together.

“Excellent, I’m sure he will attend to you well,” she smiled brightly. “As you know all of our employees and patrons are kept clean. Our employees are regularly tested and as such, your sexual cleanliness is assured whether you choose to use protection or not. Beyond that, would you prefer that he was prepared in advance, or do you require any assistance with preparing yourself prior to Vincent’s arrival?”

Tony gave the woman a vaguely perplexed look at that but there was no need to ask as her little smile told him she understood his confusion well enough. 

“Vincent’s indicated injuries are to his hands. He lacks hand strength and stability and the act of preparing someone is beyond his capabilities at this time. Naturally, we will do what we can to mitigate any issues this may cause. If this isn’t acceptable, I can wait a little while and allow you some more time-”

“No- no, it’s fine,” he interrupted swiftly.

It explained a lot. 

A surgeon with shaky hands was bad enough, but when it came to neurosurgery… at least now he knew why Stephen wasn’t in that field anymore. “There’s no need to worry about preparation like that, thank you.”

“Very well. Do you have any further requests before I make certain the room is appropriately prepared for you?”

At first, he considered simply waving her away, but the idea of Stephen knowing who he was - the idea of Stephen realizing that his former friend was _ paying to fuck him _ \- that gave Tony a long pause. 

“A blindfold for him, please.”

“Very well, sir. I’ll fetch you when the room is ready.”

The billionaire tipped his drink to her and slumped back into the leather couch. He almost felt light-headed for a moment as he realized what he'd done. He couldn't discern whether this was an act of curiosity, appeasing some old-standing feelings, or just picking the man due to familiarity’s sake. Regardless, things were set now and he felt a sinking anxious feeling in his stomach at what he may potentially find when he was called in.

This state was unnatural for Tony, never once had he felt apprehensive about bedding anyone in his life, but when it came to matters revolving around previous crushes, he couldn't help but tread lightly. 

He spent what felt like hours mulling over what could potentially happen, what he would do and was pulled from his thoughts when the stewardess was back to fetch him and tell him that both the room and 'company' were ready for him.

She beckoned him to follow with a "Right this way, Mr. Stark," as she retrieved the booklet from him and lead him down a very sophisticated looking hallway. 

It was classy, looked like the inside of a five-star hotel in downtown Manhattan, the establishment clearly went to lengths to make its patrons feel as if they were royalty here.

"Here is your room card, room service will be amenable should you need to request anything, as well as a drink, food and a prop menu," she gave another brief curtsey and handed him the card. "Enjoy your evening, Mr. Stark, don't hesitate to call if you need anything," she smiled and left the billionaire to his own devices.

He lifted the card to the door and hesitated, staring at it for a moment before he tapped the room card against the reader and walked in. The man he met kneeling at the end of the bed with his hands tucked behind his back was unmistakable, and Tony, sure enough, had no further doubts.

He softly clicked the door shut and walked in, shedding his coat on a conveniently situated chair near the door, leaving him clad in a dress shirt and dress pants. He nudged his shoes off and walked over to the bed, tilting his head and looking down at the blindfolded man who stayed quiet as if waiting to be spoken to first.

“You may as well make yourself comfortable,” he urged the other even as he tried to convince himself to do the same.

“Yes, sir,” the other’s deep baritone was unlike how he remembered it. Even as the other got carefully to his feet without the use of his hands, Tony couldn’t help but wonder where all the haughtiness and sass of the other had gone.

He and his companion for the evening had very different ideas of what ‘comfortable’ entailed, however, as before Tony could really stop him he found the former surgeon on his hands and knees on the bed and he couldn’t help but wince as he saw the straining and trembling of clearly scarred hands attempting to support his own weight. 

Was this what Stephen had become accustomed to? Customers who would force him to use his clearly damaged hands - knowing they were damaged - for this?

Wrinkling his nose, the man adjusted a few pillows before he rested his back against the headboard and reached to take Stephen’s hands in an attempt to gently lead him over. 

When he’d said comfortable, he’d meant it - and yet despite the thoughts he’d had about people not being considerate of Stephen’s hands, it seemed he’d done something wrong himself as Stephen seemed to flinch at the touch becoming briefly more rigid until Tony released his hands. 

He didn’t remark on it.

“Come here,” Tony suggested instead. “When I said comfortable, I meant comfortable, and I can’t imagine that’s very comfortable for your hands. Do people often put you in that kind of position? That seems needlessly cruel.”

The other man hesitated for a long moment before carefully feeling around and allowing Tony’s hands on his shoulders to guide him into laying himself over Tony’s lap, where the mogul’s fingers began to run into the ex-surgeon’s hair.

“... sometimes,” Stephen responded after a long moment. “But this is hardly the time to talk about something like that, is it? Please, don’t worry too much about it.”

The brunette's hand continued to card through the ex-surgeon's hair, nails lightly dragging over his scalp in a soothing motion as he observed the other's very tentative mannerisms.

Stephen stayed as still as a lap cat, no efforts to move, no prompts to speak and he was pliant to Tony's commands as he made them. There was a certain reluctance within Tony as he looked down at the man resting with his head upon his lap, it was almost painful to see Stephen so subdued.

Stephen was always competitive, sassy, in your face and cunning - but what he saw here was the shell of a less than dignified manservant, working to make a living off of whatever wages he could scrape together. Sure, the establishment was highly esteemed, but this wasn't what he remembered the doctor's greatest aspirations to be in life. The conclusion to a life of hard, dedicated work, and he could only dread what kind of debts nipped at the man's heels from his former job and education.

"Your hands,” Tony started, sliding his fingers into Stephen's palm and the other seemed to flinch with the contact. Tony delicately closed his own around them, his thumb brushing over the tips of his fingers in an attempt to soothe the other. "Tell me, what happened to them?" He treated the other like he was the most delicate thing alive, which felt like a natural response to how fragile the creature in his lap seemed.

“Poor life choices,” the man responded, seeming torn between dragging his hands back to his chest and simply allowing the touches. Enough training must have paid off, though, as the man didn’t remove his hands.

“Mmm, yeah, I know a thing or two about those,” Tony remarked with a soft chuckle. Since that didn’t seem to be an approach the man was receptive to he tried again. “What about you? Will you tell me about yourself?”

“What would you like to know?” Stephen inquired from his spot, turning to instinctively make eye-contact with Tony before remembering the blindfold. 

He couldn’t see regardless.

“Well, what kinds of things do you like? Foods? Drinks? Television shows? You know, that kind of thing.”

Stephen gave a little sigh at that. “Is this how you’d like to spend our time, sir?”

“Did you have something else in mind?” Tony knew he did. Of course he did. Here he was at a brothel trying to make nice with someone instead of fucking his brains out - it was probably a lot more unusual than he gave it credit for. “I just thought… it would be nice to have a companion to just spend time with, you know?”

The man in his lap slowly relaxed with the admission, a hint of a smile playing on his features. “You could have called a sex line for that…”

“Well, I can’t really pet someone’s hair over the phone, can I? And you do have very interesting hair. Wonderfully soft. Totally approve of this.”

“I certainly don’t mind you petting my hair if you like.”

Fingers travelled through the short dark-brown locks, fingers carding through tufts and moving down to explore the waves of silver lengths that extended from the side of his cheeks over around to the back of Stephen's head where his fingers lightly delved in against his skull and all those feelings buried away seemed to start biting and coming back from when their lives had some weight of normalcy to them.

"What line of work did you have before you got into this business? If it's a sensitive subject, you don't need to answer," the soft voice broke the silence as his palm gently slid down to cup the bottom of Stephen's chin, running his fingers through the ex-doctor's whiskers.

"I-" Stephen started, seeming to have mixed feelings about whether or not he wanted to answer that. "I was in the medical field, I’d rather not discuss specifically what," his voice hesitated, seeming a little anxious and timid with his response.

"Ah, so rather than having a bunch of people paying to be inside you, you put more than a few fingers or things inside others - if you catch my drift," the amusement was laden in his voice and that subtle smile returned and he felt the quick shake of the man letting out an amused breath.

"Not necessarily, although I did have to start from ground in that respect, so you aren't totally off." Tony had let go of Stephen's hands for his own comfort and they had curled into the front of his dress shirt.

"I won't go any deeper with the subject, I was just curious," Tony's hands moved from Stephen's chin over to the back of his neck.

"Thank you." The response seemed much more relieved and Stephen relaxed a little more, whatever strand of apprehension, faded a little.

"So, I know you get paid and all for this, but are there any aspects of this job you actually enjoy? Not meaning to insult you if this was indeed your preferred line of work, but I have to imagine through all this you find some aspects tolerable or even fun? The place looks like it treats its employees well."

The change in the other man was almost immediate, and not only because he sat up to rest a leg on either side of Tony’s hips. His arms looped around Tony’s neck as Stephen sat in Tony’s lap, giving a playful little hum at that as he rested his cheek on Tony’s shoulder, feeling his way around the motions, as blind as he was.

“You think I don’t enjoy all this?” the younger man inquired with a low purr. “You think I don’t enjoy having the entirety of someone’s attention on me?” His hands trailed down Tony’s shoulders and arms, eventually taking his hands and resting them on his hips. “Or the feel of someone’s hands all over me, like I’m some kind of prize…? I promise you, sir, there are a good many things about this kind of thing that I enjoy immensely.”

"I can't even argue that you aren't beautiful… attractive in every way, which is why I picked you out of the book. Handsome in a sense but I have to admit I was drawn to you. You’re something of a treasure in your own right." Tony was a little surprised by the sudden forwardness of the other man but his hands rested exactly where Stephen had positioned them on his hips and his hands gently and softly smoothed along his clothed body.

"To my delight, your mannerisms are a treat, and your voice a treasure," he couldn't help but reach up, thumb and index somewhat pinching the man's chin as it smoothed through his whiskers again. "It is honestly my pleasure..."

“Which mannerisms…?” Stephen inquired lowly. “If there’s something you want from me, in particular, all you have to do is ask. I’m here to indulge you in whatever manner I can… whether you’d prefer me more quiet and compliant, or more playful…” he nuzzled against Tony’s hand.

Tony let out a deep breath, squeezing Stephen's hips and looking the man straight-on. Part of him wished he could see the other man's eyes, a certain curiosity ate at him, wanting to remove it but another part of him reasoned not to. That prospect was a wild card indeed, and could only yield confusion or something even worse in the end as another hand came up from its position on Stephen's hips to tuck some hair out of his eyes.

"The way you talk, the way you carry yourself, so proper and elegant," he trailed off softly with a smile, though he knew Stephen wouldn't be able to see it.

A playful smile lit the other’s features as his hands curled over Tony’s shoulders again, the fingers of one hand trembling along the back of Tony’s neck as he smiled. “Well, I’ll have to endeavour not to dissuade you of the notion that that’s how I always am…”

He settled himself into Tony’s lap and rested his head against Tony’s hand. “Is this really all you want? Some cuddling and affection? _ Are you sure _?”

The billionaire struggled with his emotions internally. Of course, he wanted more but then again… it didn't feel right, as much as he had feelings for the man in his lap, he wanted to take things at a much more steady pace.

"I can't say you don't drive a hard bargain, but I regret to say so," his hands gently smoothed over Stephen's back, coming back up to rest at the base of his skull before fully wrapping his arms around the man and pulling him close. "Sometimes… I just want to relax and hold someone, and I don't often get that luxury."

“Hmm, as you wish then. Shall we lay down? It may be more comfortable that way… or if you prefer sitting, of course, I’ll have to ask you to help me rearrange a little bit. I’m vaguely concerned that being ‘elegant’ will go entirely out the window if I manage to fall off the bed trying to do this cuddling thing,” Stephen murmured lowly, though he slumped forward against Tony and rested his head on the man’s shoulder, his arms remaining curled around Tony as he simply held the other close.

"I would in no way be opposed to that, whatever makes you comfortable." 

The engineer scooted back on the bed and leaned up against the headboard and pillow, reclining himself with the other man against his chest. He kept an arm around Stephen to steady him, making sure he didn't fall off and smiled. "How's that, any better?" he asked as he smoothed his hand once more over the other's back.

“Really, I should be asking you that. But I would say that since I’m not somehow on the floor, yes, that’s likely better and this is already best-case scenario as cuddles go,” the man in his lap chuckled softly, not bothering to move to sit beside Tony, simply resting his head against Tony’s shoulder.

“How has your day been? Your week? I suppose we ought to talk about something, or I’m afraid I might fall asleep. You’re very comfortable, you know.”

"Well, at least I know I'm doing something right, there's that," Tony let out a soft laugh and smoothed his hand over Stephen's back. Both arms came around his slender waist and he squeezed Stephen, enjoying the oddly artificial intimacy. 

"The week’s been... not great if I can be honest. You know, someone you trust literally trying to kill you, finding out that all you knew about them was a lie, the usual?" It was spoken with humour but the undertone was rather sarcastic and sad. "If I'm being completely candid..."

“Are you injured? If there’s anything I can do to help make sure you’re comfortable…” His voice sounded familiar for a moment - doctorly, but not necessarily gentle, though the quiet returned shortly after.

“No wonder you just want to sit and have some physical companionship. I don’t think anyone could blame you for that after going through something so harrowing… honestly, harrowing feels like it’s underplaying how terrible that sounds…” Stephen’s hands brushed at his hair gently for a few moments at that, as though attempting to soothe him - though, with how much his hands trembled, it was a bit more of a ruffling of his hair than anything.

Tony rumbled with a peal of soft laughter as he pinched Stephen's chin with a smile, placing his hand back to rest on the small of the man's back afterwards.

"A few bruises, a sore back… I wouldn't say you're in the best condition to give me a backrub, but you could sit here and cuddle with me, I'll honestly be happy with just that," he let out a soft breath, hand smoothing up and down Stephen's back once.

"I can't say how nice it is to have something like this, to know I don't have to worry someone stabbing me in the back, TMI I know, it's not your job to be an emotional counsellor to me. All I really want is the company at the moment," he confessed softly.

“Hmmm, not with my hands as they are, certainly not. Also not with the blindfold on. I mean, can you imagine me trying to find a knife and somehow manage to get your back like this?” Stephen teased as though attempting to lighten the mood a little, though he pressed a soft kiss to Tony’s jaw - a little sloppily given how hard it was for the man to locate anything.

“Regardless, my job is whatever is needed of me. If what you need is just someone to talk to anonymously, and to have someone hold you where you can feel safe… I’m hardly opposed. There are certainly worse tasks than that. So while I can’t help with your back or your bruises, I’ll do what I can to help mend the bruises on your psyche.”

Tony's chest boiled with an adoration for the man - _ his Stephen _ \- his old friend, always so thoughtful and he could even pick it out from his fiscally-bound duties, separate the man's intention from what he was duty-bound to do.

"Blindfold stays on for… anonymity's sake, but wanna make out?" Tony purred softly, it was an inquiry of which he knew the answer to but couldn't help ask. "I can't stop looking at those lips of yours..." 

His fingers snuck under Stephen's shirt, resting on the small of his back, applying certain pressure to his lumbar and idly easing him towards his body.

“Oh, so now you want some sugar, hmmm?” Stephen chuckled softly at that. “You could see a whole lot more than my lips if you really wanted to…”

Despite his words, however, Stephen simply followed the man’s guidance, pressing against his chest easily enough and moving to rest his hands there for a moment, before pausing as his hands touched at the arc reactor. Tony didn’t know what the man thought of that, though the pause remained brief as Stephen leaned in further, chest to chest with Tony as he licked his lips a little - a nervous tick? It was hard to say.

“You can have whatever you want. Cuddles. Some over the clothes making out. Something more hot and heavy… whatever will help you relax.”

Tony's hands came up to cup Stephen's cheek and he pulled the man in soon enough for soft, gentle kisses. Full-on lip-to lip until he craved a little more, instigating further and demanding as he forced his tongue into Stephen's mouth.

The heat in his chest bubbled and flared, he felt like he was in high school again, or college, or whatever - it was an invigorating feeling he hadn't experienced in a while, and he was doing it with Stephen, the man of his dreams back in the day. It mattered less that the other was a man-for-hire and more that he was exactly how he remembered, except much more handsome with his facial hair now.

Not even that peppering of adolescence on the man could hide his charming boyish features and for a moment Tony was lost in that long-forgotten fantasy as it took him way back.

Stephen remained willing and pliant in his grasp in a way he’d never known the man, resting his body snug against Tony’s so that there was no doubting the feel of Stephen’s somewhat flaccid cock against him - though, given the way the other leaned down to meet him, the way he was perched in Tony’s lap, and the way the man seemed to be tucked in his pants, Tony supposed he shouldn’t be surprised. The stimulation hadn’t been a lot and there were plenty of reasons to assume Stephen hadn’t expected even this at this point, after how many assurances Tony had given him that he only wanted cuddles.

_ So fuck it. _

A little bit of softness, the support of an old friend, even if it was some kind of platitude… it felt nice, as did the feel of the man’s ass pressed against his own dick, despite that neither of them was doing much of anything in the nethers department. He was so much more acutely aware of the feel with his hands on the soft skin of Stephen’s back, and the other man’s lips on his, his tongue receptive and playful as they batted at each other and rubbed together eagerly.

It was an ache as Tony rolled himself up against Stephen's backside, although not intending to pursue this further he couldn't help but allow himself to be completely assimilated by the moment. Arms taut on the man's waist he closed his eyes, tongue-to-tongue, lips melding like putty against one another as he expressed a side of himself with the other that probably should have remained buried deep in his libido.

The want, the need to show everything to the man he once pined over, crushed on, that man was now here for the taking... yet something kept him from taking things further, keeping him from going the extra step which would inevitably turn this into just another fling.

He wanted a connection, and if he slept with this man tonight, his old-time crush, he may never have the chance to connect in the future and that held him back entirely.

But a kiss? What harm could there be there, especially given Stephen was apparently into it... or was he? Could he fake this? He seemed completely absorbed... Tony couldn't say but he was definitely enjoying it himself.

Stephen’s soft groan was stifled against Tony’s lips as he remained clearly fixed on the kiss, breathing heavily through his nose as he adjusted his legs to wrap them around Tony as well, keeping himself closely pressed against the businessman in so many ways.

He tasted of tea and strawberries, and a hint of mint that Tony wondered about. It wasn’t what he’d expected, remembering the man’s long nights and their mutual coffee binges, meeting up for caffeine breaks at hours that left their coffee suppliers perplexed and confused.

He was also surprisingly more muscular than Tony had expected. He didn’t expect Stephen worked out - at least not since his injuries, but he’d never known him to work out before, either - and he didn’t feel as pointedly defined as someone who would have, but there was certainly the pointed hint of toned muscles under soft flesh as his fingers ran over his back, delighting in the way his skin perked with gooseflesh under his touch.

He indulged himself, heavy breaths in and out as he let out his own soft groans, kissing and rolling his hips in synchronicity with those wonderful physical and fluid motions.

Tony's head turned, lips detaching, heat bristling as he gasped for air and dove in more with heated aspiration, devouring the man in his grasp. He was definitely hard, and definitely getting into it, but refused himself the luxury of pushing further given his principles.

Electricity was sparking between their forms and Tony loved it, the man's physique was a treasure, a delicacy compared to his previous ventures and the fact that he had his own mental- and emotional-connection only made it that much better.

It was hard to say how long they spent simply kissing and touching and exploring before Stephen chuckled breathlessly against his mouth, his hand reaching behind him to touch absently at the bulge in Tony’s pants. “Do you want a hand with that…?”

The temptation was impossible to ignore - the few options he had, included letting Stephen help him (not with his hands, he could only imagine how awful that would be for the other), ravaging the man entirely (which was enticing, he couldn’t deny that, but also wholly contrary to everything he’d set out to do so far), or jerking off at home. And honestly, the idea of jerking off to the man currently seated in his lap, regal and flushed and looking entirely delighted with himself was certainly appealing in its own way.

His imagination was already taking over as he thought again on what it would be like, in ways he hadn’t in almost a decade. His nails raked gently over the man’s back and Stephen gave a small gasp, his chest arching against Tony further.

"I mean..." Tony trailed off as Stephen palmed at his crotch, lewdly. "I don't-" his own hand went down to meet the other man's as he stifled a soft moan. "Cuddle with me, touch me, I'll do the rest. God, you turn me on but I just… can't," Tony struggled as he scrambled to undo his pants with one hand.

His other wound tightly around Stephen's shoulders as he crushed the other man against his form, eyes closed as he lightly handled himself, Stephen's shaking hands attempting to assist, resting over Tony's.

"Are you really sure that's all you want?" Stephen purred softly, rubbing his own bulge up against Tony.

"Yes..." Tony mumbled softly, weak in his resolve yet settled in his choice. "Just kiss me dammit," Tony hissed and the man went for his neck as he stroked himself, no further questions asked.

It wasn’t hard to imagine the lips on his neck being around his cock instead, soft and wet, or the way the man’s tongue would work around his shaft, the tip of his tongue running along the tip of his cock without hesitation. He could imagine the suction, matching the tightness he made of his fist as he stroked.

A trembling hand searched Tony’s face for his lips and moments later Tony was met with a fierce barrage of kisses, fingers seeming almost more stable as they ran into his hair, the man’s body adjusting over him to give him plenty of room to pump his hand over his shaft before Stephen gave a low moan that he was almost certain was for Tony’s sake rather than being authentic.

“... there’s lube in the drawer to your left,” Stephen supplied helpfully, pausing for a moment in his kisses to give him that heads up before leaning in once again to steal willingly given kisses. 

Tony’s free hand reached to one side, feeling around blindly as he focused on the kiss before fetching the lube from the drawer. He managed the cap, squeezing a generous helping onto his erect cock, the chill from the cold lubricant sending shivers down his spine as he finally took hold of himself again and began to pump his incredibly hard cock.

Stephen continued his relentless assault on his mouth and Tony couldn't help but moan at both the other man's efforts and the simulation of the other's mouth sucking him off.

"Gods," he managed to rasp and his hold tightened as he desperately clung to him for some sort of anchor to keep him grounded through all of this, his breathing becoming even more strained and ragged as he worked his length.

"You're an absolute dream, I hope you know that," he breathed in between their kisses, seizing his lips once again and trapping him with his arm.

The other gave a soft hum of amusement into their kiss, one of his own hands reaching down presumably to try and find a way into Tony’s shirt, only to be met with buttons and layers. Instead, the man simply focused on his kisses, an arm slung over Tony’s shoulder and the other moving up to rest on Tony’s cheek, as Stephen overtook every one of his senses.

It was odd to think about but, even without direct intercourse, there was something powerfully engaging about all of this. He knew it was his mental state. He knew it was the knowledge that to a degree his dreams and fantasies involving this man were being indulged - an itch being scratched that had been ignored so long he forgot what it was like not to be itchy.

He wanted more. If even this felt so good, he wanted to know what it would be to take it further. He wanted to imagine Stephen was wearing the blindfold of his own will and that it would be safe to call the man by his name… he wanted to imagine Stephen moaning his own name, the both of them reaching completion together.

He wanted this to be real.

That was the thought that struck him just before his orgasm washed over him, leaving him to make a mess of the other’s clothes, the bed and his own hand, but no less deeply engaged in the kiss as his low moan was stifled against Stephen’s hungry kisses.

His entire being tensed as that wonderful orgasm rolled over him in waves, crashing into him like nothing before. Things could have felt odd, going from zero to one-hundred in the matter of a day with someone he'd been fixated on for nearly decades in the past, but all those feelings had come rushing back like a riptide and he could admit he felt so much alive and like this was old times again. He gasped for air, drowning in the other man's kisses that indulged even after he was done, like he was being devoured alive.

And he loved every moment of it.

His hands shook as he let go of himself, shook with the recession of the intensity from his compromised actions with this man. He finally grabbed a hold of him like a lifeline and wrapped his arms entirely around the man, undone, exposed, boneless on the bed as the other seemed to delight in his weakness, in the fact that he'd completely and entirely been unravelled in that fell swoop.

"Gods..." Tony croaked into Stephen's mouth, managing in between kisses as the other gave him some respite, sitting back and grinning down at him. His eyes were covered but the amusement was there in the man’s smile and the engineer took his time to enjoy basking in the afterglow, eyes cracked and returning that same smile up at the man who couldn't see it.

“Better?” Stephen inquired, brushing at his hair and cheeks with shaking hands but continuing to smile nevertheless. He adjusted to sit on one side of him, nestling in against his side and adjusting to rest his head on Tony’s shoulder as he did, his fingers moving to trace absently over Tony’s buttons before his hands slid around Tony’s waist to hug him there.

Rather than resting his hands over Stephen's, he opted to settle them over the arm that was wrapped around his side, tilting his head and nudging the tip of his nose into the other's head. 

"So much better..." he rumbled lowly, starting to stroke over the arm curled in and under his shirt.

“I’m so glad,” the former surgeon responded, smiling warmly. “You just stay here and cuddle until your heart rate settles, alright? If you’d like to clean up there’s a bathroom through the door to the right of the entry, and you can always have someone dry clean your pants here before you go out if they need it. I don’t mind if you wanna cuddle without pants while they do,” he added with a little chuckle.

"That would be a good idea," Tony mumbled. "Stay right there, sweetheart, I'll go call for that room service and get cleaned up," he peppered another few kisses over Stephen's brow, hands coming to gently thumb through the bristles of his chin.

"I'll be right here when you get back," he purred in response.

He reluctantly stood up, not wanting to remain any longer in the mess before sliding off the bed and reaching for the room phone to call up some service. He slid out of his pants and left them on the edge of the bed, slipping off into the bathroom to clean himself up. 

In that time room-service came and collected his pants and changed the bedding, leaving Tony in nothing but his briefs as he came out a little more freshened up. He slid back onto the bed, carefully tucking back in against Stephen and ever so gently coaxing the man back to resting his head on his shoulder and tugging his arm around his waist.

His hand came up this time and he soothed through the man's hair, fingers lightly once again coursing over the silver strands as he seemed to fixate on those ultimately defining features of the man.

"Miss me?" Tony joked with a light chuckle, nudging a knuckle against Stephen's cheek.

“I did!” Stephen chimed with a little smirk of his own, “it got so cold here without you. Welcome back!”

The man snuggled himself in against Tony with a smile. “She says things should be ready to go in about half an hour. She left a bottle of scotch on the side table for you, I believe. Which side table, I’m not sure. But please help yourself. Some More physical intimacy is otherwise readily available for you as well!”

"I see that now, that was generous. Would you like to join me in having a drink?" he looked over to the glasses and bottle at the bedside before he gave Stephen a couple of light taps on his shoulder to let him know before he wormed his way up into a seated position along the headboard of the bed.

His arm adjusted to rest around Stephen's waist. "I'm sure a drink could only make the night better for the two of us."

“I’m going to admit to you now that that sounds like a terrible idea. Between the shaking of my hands and the fact that I’m blindfolded, I’m going to more likely end up with alcohol all over me than actually in me,” Stephen laughed softly, though there was definitely something under that. Shame, perhaps? It was hard to say. “Unless I was provided with a sippy cup. In which case, by all means! And I’m hardly rejecting the offer if you’d still rather me wet and covered in scotch…” he added.

"Why don't we share a glass then? I could do the honours and hold it for you, steady those beautiful hands of yours," Tony inquired softly, there was amusement laden in his voice as he could clearly see what Stephen meant. "I wasn't entirely sure how articulate you were, I just can't have you missing out on the fun though." 

Tony filled a glass with some ice cubes from the ice bucket and settled back in against Stephen once again, offering the glass to the other's lips lightly and allowing him to guide Tony's hands to however much he wanted. Stephen took a small sip as it was offered before nestling in against Tony once again, resting a hand on his chest and dutifully not asking about the piece in his chest as he made certain the hand didn't rest there. 

"Thank you, that's very considerate of you. It's not always such a problem, I assure you, but between the shaking and lack of sight it can be hard to figure out where something is. It's like closing your eyes and trying to touch your nose without poking yourself in the eye while drunk. A nuisance, you know? Not that I'm complaining, it's unusual to have this whole anonymity thing going. Like a glory hole, but more... everything."

"Glory hole? Hmmm, don't think so lowly of this kind of thing, tonight you are my date, a one-sided blind date at that," Tony chuckled, taking a sip for himself before he set the glass on the bedside table.

"You can ask," he stated softly after a moment, procuring Stephen's hand and gently placing it over the piece in his chest. The arc reactor hummed and buzzed as it resonated off of Stephen's palm and he felt the man reluctantly, but curiously feel around the crest of its design.

"It doesn't hurt. The surgery was done a while ago," he added softly, letting go of Stephen's fingers as he watched the man finger around the metal.

"Surgery? I... I just thought it was a really big piece of jewelry..." Stephen tilted his head curiously, feeling the outline through Tony's shirt. "So this wasn't... from recently...? You sound like you have a very exciting life. This is very intricate, whatever it is..."

"We can talk about that another time in the future, make a little trade, hmm? I'll tell you about my little surgical disaster here-" he grinned as Stephen's hands continued to probe around the reactor as if trying to discern or make guesses towards what could possibly be in his chest, "- and you can tell me about your hands. You know, get to know a little more about one another," he placed his hand back over Stephen's and gently ghosted his fingertips along the track marks on his digits.

"You're planning to visit again?" Stephen inquired lowly.

"Would you rather I didn't?" he felt his chest clench for a moment as he sipped at his scotch with his free hand, hoping he was misreading things.

"I didn't say anything of the sort. I'd be absolutely honoured to spend time with you again, mystery man," Stephen reassured, soothing him as his hand ran over his chest slowly, not drawing away from the fingers that traced over his. "It's been a pleasure to spend time with you. Surprisingly relaxing, really."

"And it's been an absolute delight to spend my night with you, too." The anxiety subsided and Tony pressed the glass lightly to Stephen's lips where the man only briefly withdrew his hand to guide in how much he wanted to take from the glass before putting his hand back down.

Once again, Tony's fingers went to rest on his and he let out a long sigh, somewhat content with the way things had gone. He could believe Stephen was genuinely interested in seeing him again, or that the man was simply being polite as his job asked of him. Though he'd hoped that it was the former.

"I know I've really enjoyed and appreciated your company as well."

"I can only assume as much given that you've apparently decided you'd like to see me again," Stephen smiled, shifting to press a light kiss to Tony's cheek. "If that's the case, I must've done something right..." his hand rested on Tony's chest again, thoughtfully. "Maybe next time we can discuss our mutual scars and surgeries if you're interested. I... was a surgeon, once. I'll admit I might be more interested in this little mystery of yours than is strictly appropriate... I hope that's not terribly off-putting to you."

"Like a good book that you can't put down," Tony retrieved Stephen's hand and brought it up to his lips. "A done deal, then we can both share a little part of ourselves that doesn't require clothes to come off. Who knows, maybe I'll be a bit more adventurous and we can turn it into a game - like strip poker!" he rumbled with amusement. "For every bit of information you get out of me, you take off a little piece of clothing off and vice versa. We'll get to know each other intimately in all senses of the word. Would you have any objections to that?" There was a playful cadence as he spoke.

"I'm sorry though, a former surgeon... You obviously don't need my pity, nor would you want it. But I still think you are beautiful, your scars, your voice. They do shape us to be who we are in a sense. We wear our stories on our bodies. But - yes, I’d like that."

"Someone's patient..." Stephen jibed softly, giving him a wry smile at that. "Do you think you can really wait that long? And doesn't knowing that kind of information about me ruin the possible fantasy of the whole thing...? And if my scars tell my story, as you say, then haven't you gotten me all figured out already? What are the rules of the game, sir?"

"Well, it would ruin the fantasy for you, maybe you'd be able to paint a picture of the man you're with right now. Though, I'd like to think that the reason we'd be doing this is to get a little closer and learn about the other… who knows, it might make our intimacy that much better?" the engineer lowered his voice just above a whisper as he dragged his lips over Stephen's cheeks.

"You're already enough of a fantasy here for me, sweetheart. You have no idea," he planted a soft kiss before moving to lean back against the headboard again.

Someone interrupted them nearly twenty minutes later with his cleaned and pressed pants, though she politely simply set them aside and left again, not pushing him to leave or anything of the like. They’d made it through three glasses between the two of them and there was something soothing about the way Stephen’s breathing had begun to ease as the evening wore on. 

He was different than he had been at the beginning of things and Tony had to wonder if the man had simply been anxious and uncertain of what was to be expected with the blindfold involved. He seemed to have relaxed considerably, flirting playfully and greeting him with a little kiss when he finally did take his leave.

“I’ll see you soon,” Tony promised and Stephen simply gave him a warm smile - a smile Tony couldn’t imagine might’ve been faked.

“I hope so. I look forward to the pleasure of your company again,” Stephen responded gently and Tony stole one last kiss before he headed out.

Sure enough, it wasn’t long before Tony was back again. A week - a stressful, hectic week - brought him back, and the second evening he spent with Stephen went much more smoothly than the first, though it originally began with Stephen once more on his knees at the end of the bed. As soon as Tony greeted him, however, Stephen stood and turned to offer him (well, the wall slightly to his left) a warm smile and a cheerful “I missed you!”

Neither of them talked about anything too heavy, everything felt oddly light and superficial about their discussions, with neither man making any pointed mentions of their scars or surgeries. That was saved for their third meeting when Stephen finally seemed to be comfortable enough to divulge the circumstances of his injury.

“A car accident,” Stephen confessed. “I wasn’t paying attention, it was raining… I was discussing some potential clients, wasn’t watching where I was going… back when I thought I was invincible, for some reason…”

Tony gently smoothed his hands over Stephen's shoulders. "You know at some point when you really think you're ahead of the world, and that nothing could ever happen to you, that's generally when life tends to serve you up a helping of humble pie," the billionaire chuckled, having been holding one of Stephen's hands in his own, probably one of the more unique things he'd liked about the other man.

To handle and hold someone where they were most vulnerable meant there was trust, considering that Stephen was no longer anxious by this visit and he felt as if they were both connecting on a level, trekking through undiscovered grounds.

He took Stephen's hand and positioned it over his reactor, then lightly guided the tips of Stephen's fingers around the veiny scars that stemmed out like branches from his reactor.

"At one point I thought I was king of the world, I got this abroad. I used to do military work," he started, unsure how much he could really tell Stephen. "I can't say I did the most savoury of things, I was in charge of giving weapons presentations, pandering to the army and in turn, the company I worked for would double-deal under the table to the very enemies the states were purchasing these weapons to defend themselves against." He felt Stephen's fingers on the branches and roots of the scar tissue, working their way in and out to try and understand what he was feeling.

"I got hit with a shrapnel bomb, this magnet kept the shrapnel from reaching my chest, otherwise I'd be dead by now."

Stephen felt blindly over the scars, his touches gentle but intrigued. “By the sounds of it, you’re lucky to be alive.”

“I must be, since I got to meet you,” Tony teased gently, his finger brushing the tip of the other’s nose, leaving the former surgeon to shift his head away in some confusion. 

Tony simply chuckled softly at that and the rest of the night was spent inspecting one another’s scars and discussing various procedures, gently kissing and holding one another, laying bare chest to bare chest with the reactor the only thing between them. 

While during their second visit nothing more sexual than some kisses were exchanged, Tony followed that up this time with simple cuddles and skin to skin contact, his fingers tracing over Stephen’s chest and admiring the man, and the younger man reciprocating with gentle kisses to his chest, his fingers tracing the web of scars Tony usually left hidden beneath his clothing.

This was intimacy enough. A different kind of intimacy. 

Stephen was a gift. A treasure he wanted to keep and protect - someone special to him. Someone safe.

He wanted to live in the moment, forever, he wanted the other man to be his but as per the rules of the brothel, there was only so much time he could 'live' in the moment so to say and the night had to come to an end at some point rather.

There was a point where there was no movement, no words spoken, just silence. Perfect silence, comfortable silence, it was serene and it was beautiful just like the man in his arms. Tony's fingers lightly trailing through the other man's hair before there was a light tap and he had to bid the other man goodnight.

There was only so long he could live in his fantasy before he had to get back to his life outside of their meetings.

"As much as I don't want to go, I really need to be moving along now," Tony could feel the other man tense and even though he couldn't see, the man still lifted his head to look in the direction of Tony's face.

"That time already..." came the quiet baritone and Tony was discretely overjoyed at that.

"Mmmhmm, but a little parting gift for the road, sweetness," he shuffled around, reaching for the box he'd set on the nightstand and handed it to the man laying atop his chest. "You can open it when I leave," he gently squeezed Stephen's fingers around the narrow box, velvet to the touch, maroon in colour and wrapped in a red cloth, and placed a farewell kiss on the top of his head.

He sat up, putting his clothes back on before pulling Stephen into his chest once more for a farewell kiss that lingered. Lips touched and parted almost in a tease to leave the other wanting more as he caressed the ex-surgeon's cheek and slipped off. 

"It was another wonderful night, I was honoured to spend it with you."

"Take care, I'll be back, and that's a promise," he smiled, getting one last glimpse of his man and clicked the door shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	2. Chapter 2

The kisses seemed like they’d never stop. Stephen sat in his lap, a red cloth tied over his eyes and the faintly glowing blue of his watch resting on his otherwise bare right wrist, set with a trillion cut blue sapphire made in a mock echo of Tony’s arc reactor. It was a small sign of possession and when he walked in to see the other in that and the red blindfold there was an odd sense of content ownership that settled in his chest.

Stephen was  _ his _ . 

Stephen had chosen to wear the gifts to visit him, without any prompting of Tony’s own… and what a sight it was. His thank you was a kiss that seemed to never end. Stephen had managed to direct him into a chair, settling him there as he straddled him, peppering kisses that were persistent and needy. 

Between Tony’s ego and his libido, there wasn’t a lot that could stop this.

Hands worked at Stephen’s shirt easily divesting him of the unnecessary clothing, before he worked at his own buttons, a passive thought fleeting through his mind that he should stop wearing things with buttons when he came to visit Stephen - buttons seemed well beyond the man’s ability to navigate at this point. It was fine. Tony was more than capable of removing the shirt himself and he was far from reluctant to grind up against the clearly aroused man in his lap.

“Missed me, did you?” Tony teased breathlessly as he leaned back in the armchair, running his hands over the other’s bare torso as he admired the figure in his lap, listening to the soft moan that came as the other rocked back against the bulge in his pants. “God, you’re a sight, you know that?”

“As long as you think so, I’m happy,” Stephen responded breathlessly, settling his hands on the arms of the chair, using them as leverage to roll his hips against Tony’s groin as his teeth caught his lip for a moment. “Welcome back,” he finally greeted properly, with a small, sly grin as Tony’s hands rested on his hips.

“A hell of a welcome back. I certainly feel  _ welcome, _ ” he responded as he stilled the other’s movements and held him close. “I thought we were still getting to know each other?”

“Oh? I thought the gifts were a sign you wanted to move a little faster,” Stephen responded cheekily. “Or maybe I just  _ really _ want you to fuck me, have you considered that?”

"I think that works out just fine for me because I would really love to be inside you, filling you, appreciating you." He took a moment to eye-up the man in his lap, a hand on his cheek as he leaned in and began to pepper kisses along the ex-surgeon's sternum.

His arms were around Stephen, crushing him to his own chest, rolling against the fabric of his pants, a pronounced rock-hard bulge bumping against Stephen's ass cheeks as he groaned softly and ground up against him.

"Now then, would you like to sit here and ride me, or perhaps I could bend you over the bed and take you _ like an animal _ ? Or, are you more of a vanilla-type, on your back, legs spread?" he purred, leaning in to suck on one of Stephen's nipples as the other man made his decision on  _ how he wanted to be treated _ tonight.

"Right here, right now, in this chair." His arms were around Tony's neck, letting off soft little mewls as the billionaire's tongue teased at his erect nipple. He stimulated the first and moved on to the next, nibbling playfully, biting softly and then began to dot kisses up to his neck where he began to suckle at the stubble-specked skin just below his jaw.

Stephen rewarded him with more heavy breaths, huffing loudly and for that moment the sounds of pants and squeaking leather filled the silence of the room as Tony played with him. He knew he was doing something right when he could feel the rock hard bulge pressed into his own gut from the man in his lap and in that moment he took hold of Stephen's prick in the palm of his hand, keeping the other around his waist.

The man in his lap let a soft cuss slip under his breath as he grasped more tightly at the leather of the chair, his body jerking against Tony’s hand for a moment before he carefully pulled back a bit. 

“I… don’t know about you… but things are starting to feel a little restricting. May I…?” he inquired, not quite getting out of Tony’s lap, but backing up enough that he sat closer to Tony’s knees, as his hands reciprocated Tony’s touches.

The glint of the lightly glowing sapphire set into the watch on Stephen’s wrist became pointedly clear as his right hand rubbed against Tony’s erection some. Stephen’s left hand settled on his own pants, running along the rim of them as he waited. “I promise, I’ll put on a good show of it…”

"If that makes you happy, anything for you," he smiled, though a smile went unseen was a smile none-the-less. 

There was an undeniable instant reaction as he let the man shuffle backwards off his lap, steadying him with the other to make sure he wouldn't fall before Stephen carefully slipped out of his own pants, taking very little time to leave himself bared to the other, though the teases of skin as the man undressed were beyond scintillating.

When Stephen returned to his lap, utterly bared to him, Tony continued to stroke his cock like a delicate treasure in his hands.

"Let me make this a little nicer for you," Tony leaned over to grab a small bottle off the stand among a few, a warming lubricant that he gently applied to his hand and then spread the thick jelly over Stephen's length.

He heard the other man's voice catch in his throat, a shudder and then relax and then a buck into his gently clasped palm.

"A-ahh...!" the doctor panted, canting his head.

"Don't forget to save some of that sweet serenading for when I'm actually inside of you… mmm?"

“I doubt… I’m going to run out of any such noises with you touching me…” Stephen responded in a low whine, his fingers moving to carefully unzip Tony’s pants, reaching in to gently release Tony’s cock from his pants before both of his hands curled carefully around Tony’s cock and a slight smile fixed on his features.

“Now that feels like a treat,” he added, rocking his hips into Tony’s hand with a deep groan as his head rolled forward a little. A hand raised after a moment and Stephen shuddered slightly in his spot as he whimpered a request. “Lube…?”

Tony let go for a moment, grabbing the bottle again and nudging the uncapped side of a different bottle into Stephen's flat palm. "Hold your hand open for a moment," he murmured softly and squeezed some of it into Stephen's palm before depositing it back on the side-table.

Stephen's shaky palms closed around the liquid, and he warmed it up some in his hand before pressing it to Tony which instantly got him a shiver in response. 

"Different, not using the warm stuff?" Stephen playfully inquired.

"That's what you're for, I want to feel how warm you are around my cock," Tony hissed and Stephen hummed in understanding as he gently rolled his palm along Tony's dick as they exchanged touches.

"Don't stress your hand, I don't want you to get hurt," Tony mumbled a little concerned, though he undoubtedly appreciated the touch.

"I won't, just let me do this for you," Stephen whispered, his shaky hand delicately running over Tony's length while the other cupped Tony's face.

“You treat me so well, you’re always so considerate and cautious, and willing to learn…” he continued softly, his hands continuing to work at Tony’s length as he attended to the erection in his hands, “there are some things I can’t do. This? I can…”

Tony groaned lightly at the attention, his hands wrapping around Stephen to rest one on his ass before gently running the middle finger of his slicked hand against Stephen’s entrance. “... mm… and this…?”

“ _ That _ ...” Stephen’s breath caught in his throat, his hands stuttering in their movement slightly, “I… could definitely use a hand with…”

The former doctor had barely finished speaking when the finger eased its way inside, carefully circling to apply lube everywhere, and the man in his lap leaned forward a bit, resting his forehead against Tony’s shoulder and carefully rocking his hips back against the finger in time with the strokes he gave Tony’s cock. It wasn’t long before Tony removed the finger, applying a little more lube as Stephen gave a soft whine before he added a second finger and worked to gently stretch him open further, earning him a gasp and a deep moan that felt like it vibrated through his chest.

“Fuck… please…” the man in his lap whimpered, rolling his hips back against Tony’s as he adjusted slightly to let their cocks rub against each other, his hands curling around both of them in the process.

"I don't want to hurt you, sweetheart..." His fingers dipped in and out, tension squeezing down on them but as he pressed in further the tension eased a little bit with the building slickness along with those tight interior muscles.

"How do you know I don't like it rough?" Stephen groaned with a huff.

"Safety first," the engineer chuckled and he gave the doctor a rough nudge of his fingers inside, splaying his digits inside of Stephen which drew out another hearty moan.

"Come on," Stephen whined, shaking his head into Tony's shoulder and all he got in return was a light chuckle. "This hurts more than just sticking it in there without warming me up," he heaved.

"Doubtful," Tony quipped and he pulled his fingers out entirely when he'd deemed the man ready, reaching to grab his cheeks and plant one more kiss on him.

"Scoot forward," he instructed and Stephen pushed up onto his knees so he was back in Tony's space again, knees flat on the leather on either side of him.

"Now sit," one hand guided himself in as he felt Stephen press down and impale himself a little too quickly on his cock.

"Good boy," he crooned, and squeezed his thighs affectionately, letting out his own growl of pleasure and Stephen in turn shuddered. "Gods, you’re so tight… after working at a place like this, you are not what I expected," Tony wiggled a little, nudging himself further into Stephen's ass which drew another mewl out of the man. "Warm, so warm - I love it," he soothed playfully.

“May I-”

“Someone’s in such a rush… we have all the time in the world. Let me enjoy this for a moment, hm?” he teased, watching Stephen shudder in his spot. “Just stay still for me for a moment, you beautiful creature…”

Stephen responded with a slight huff but remained still as Tony reached to put a couple of ice cubes into the crystal glass on the table beside the chair. It was clear that Stephen was anxious to move, but that only made the idea of making him wait seem more enticing. He added a third ice cube before pouring the scotch slowly into his cup, holding the bottle carefully in his lube-slicked hand, before setting it aside and using the ice tongs to pull out the third ice cube.

“Open up for me, darling,” he instructed, and Stephen hesitated for a moment.

“I’d say I’m already well and opened for you-”

“Your mouth, dear. Open your mouth for me,” Tony chuckled softly.

Stephen gave a soft grumble of confusion at that before opening his mouth and Tony placed the liquor-soaked ice cube into his mouth, delighting in the little shiver that ran through the other at that. “Now then, you suck that for me. No moving until it’s gone, and if I hear a crunch, so help me…” he warned playfully, leaning back into his seat and sipping at the glass of scotch, watching the man in his lap as his cheeks hollowed some while he sucked on the ice cube.

He toyed with the idea of assaulting the other’s body with ice as well, indulging in his warmth while teasing around his pert nipples with something cold, but he simply settled for running a finger over the man’s chest and down his stomach thoughtfully, taking the time to finally appreciate seeing the man he’d so often fantasized about in the past now completely naked, impaled on his cock and yearning to fuck him desperately.

Stephen at points opened his mouth to let out a breath, the ice cube clearly too cold to continue sucking on it in the same spot so he had to swish it around his mouth.

Tony busied himself, fingers playing with the soft trail of fuzz down to Stephen's cock before lightly grabbing it, and if possible, making this much more difficult for the anxious man in his lap.

A small drop of water trailed down his mouth, remnants of the defeated ice cube. Tony's hand left his cock and went to set his drink down on the table before resting his palms back on Stephen's thighs.

"Good boy," he reiterated, "I think I've put you through enough, how about we get down to actually having some fun now?" Stephen's shaky hands squeezed around Tony's shoulders and he nodded, sputtering his words out. 

"Please," he breathed and Tony began to roll his hips a couple of times before stopping. 

"Why not put on that show for me, the one you offered earlier. Give me your best lap-dance, or  _ pole dance, _ whichever you prefer. I'll love it either way..." he hummed softly.

He’d felt the muscles hidden under Stephen’s skin before, but as the man looped his arms around Tony’s shoulders and all too eagerly lifted himself up again to slam back down, those muscles became considerably more apparent. The man had finally been freed of his leash and his moans and cries left him with abandon as his body worked Tony’s length hard, his thick thighs proving to be solid muscle every time they tensed under the weight of his own body.

A hint of firm abs showed themselves as Stephen’s hips moved in slow, circular motions that Tony could only assume were more for his own benefit than Stephen’s, though every so often the motion seemed to hit the right spot as Stephen shuddered in his grasp and Tony’s hands held firmly to the other’s hips.

“There…?” he inquired, receiving a gasp and a weak nod as Stephen was held tightly in his spot. “Then fuck yourself on me right there, baby… make yourself feel good…” Tony instructed and as Stephen lifted himself up and began to slide back down, Tony pulled him down hard, thrusting his hips up into the other man and groaning, though the sound was drowned out under the loud, deep moan the man in his lap gifted him at the movement.

He repeated the action, again and again, watching as Stephen began to falter in his movements, his body shuddering and his untouched cock leaking between them, bouncing in its spot with every thrust. Tony picked up some of the slack, fucking hard up into the entirely too pliant body mounted on top of him, and Stephen’s head lolled on Tony’s shoulder as sharp gasps and moans fell into the space between them. 

Eventually, the former doctor had turned to putty in his grasp, though he proved resilient when it came to holding his orgasm in. He'd succumbed to his own desire and Tony was there, just as content to pick up the slack as he bounced Stephen on his lap like he was in the back of an old wooden coaster.

He gauged his success by the thorough, full-bodied gasps and praises that the man in his lap let spill from his mouth and he could feel the muscles of his ass starting to clench and seize intermittently around him as Stephen's fingers tightened, clutching on to Tony for dear life.

"Don't hold back baby, come for me, come on," he crooned with a breathy voice as he slapped the man's ass hard with his own clothed thighs.

Beautiful mewls of pleasure escaped into Tony's shoulder. "Come on, that's it," he continued to coax Stephen.

"I-I..." the man couldn't even muster the words, as if he'd forgotten how to speak entirely, seemingly too lost in pleasure.

It wasn’t a moment later that Stephen’s whole body gave an almost violent shudder, his ass becoming almost overwhelmingly tight around Tony’s cock as Stephen’s orgasm wracked through the man, leaving a trail of hot cum across Tony’s belly and parts of his chest. Stephen continued to shake in his arms as he rocked his hips, riding out his orgasm to the fullest, and the tight heat around him embracing his erection was enough to push Tony over the edge in wake.

Stephen slumped against him some, giving a weak, low moan as Tony filled him quite entirely, the engineer continuing a few hard thrusts as he milked the last of his seed out and into the man of his desires. The thought alone could’ve kept him going, stimulating feelings inside him that he couldn’t place or name properly, even as he cleaned the lube from his hands and ran one into Stephen’s hair gently.

“Shh, god, you’re really something, you know that…?” Tony praised softly into the other’s ear, and Stephen gave a quiet whimper at that before carefully sitting up without dislodging Tony’s cock and leaning to kiss Tony feverishly. Small, hot kisses at first before the doctor’s tongue begged entrance, slipping into Tony’s mouth to kiss him deeply and hungrily.

Tony let out a soft hum as he allowed himself to once again be overtaken by the man in his arms. He sure as hell wanted this as much as Stephen was putting in, arms wrapping up the man entirely in an embrace and clutching him near and dear (so much so his reactor was starting to leave an imprint).

He moaned softly into the kiss, indulging in their tango of tongues, pushing and fighting with Stephen's as he twisted his head in to get the upper hand, but the other proved a fair challenge for him. 

He relented soon enough, letting the beautiful creature in his lap have his way with him, perfectly content to give everything to the man in his arms as he was pushed to crane his neck against the back of the chair, only breaking the kiss when he finally needed to breathe.

Stephen tucked his head in against Tony's neck and curled up in his lap, trying to get as close as he possibly could. The engineer's hands in turn slackened and he was back to carding his fingers delicately through Stephen's hair.

"You're so god damn amazing, beautiful," he huffed, stroking him as he exhaled more praise for the man.

“You’re certainly pretty incredible yourself,” Stephen responded as he cuddled in, not bothering to move more than to curl up against his chest, despite the slowly congealing cum against both of their fronts. “My legs feel like jello,” he admitted after a moment, and Tony laughed softly, shaking his head a bit.

“You’re definitely too fit for your legs to feel like jello-”

“I’m not sure what fitness has to do with having your brains fucked out,” Stephen retorted a little breathlessly. “Also my legs are pressed against the arms of this chair, and your hips are cutting into the insides of them, so I’m reasonably certain there might be a slight loss of blood to the leg via the femoral artery…”

“In case I forgot you were a doctor, thank you for that reminder,” Tony jibed in return, and Stephen simply laughed into his shoulder.

“Just so we’re clear, I would’ve happily jumped you despite gifts… but… I did want to thank you for these. The blindfold is really nice, the texture is… really enjoyable on my face. And the watch is… honestly stunning. I’ve never seen anything quite like this. I couldn’t find a maker’s mark on it or anything, but this is truly excellent craftsmanship…”

“So you’re a doctor  _ and _ a watch aficionado is it?” Tony joked in an attempt to keep from acknowledging the fact that he had some prior knowledge as to Stephen’s interests that way.

"Well, I used to have a pretty… impressive collection, though I did have to sell most of them at some point when I ran out of money. I spent myself into debt trying to fix my hands," Stephen trailed off, the air growing a little heavy as he sat there.

"The blindfold looks nothing short of elegant on you, and the watch even more-so. I'm over the moon that you enjoyed the gifts." Tony leaned in close pressing a few quiet kisses to the center of Stephen's chest in an attempt to bring the mood back up again, letting out a deep breath as he held the man, not seeming to mind the mess as much. "You'll find this watch is something of a one-of-a-kind..."

"Indeed," Stephen commented with a smile.

"Now, let's get you over to the bed, I know I have the effect on people to make them weak in the knees… but I can't imagine this is too comfortable, as much as I love having you perched up on my lap like this." Without another word Tony manoeuvred Stephen up, his cock sliding out of Stephen's ass which made the both of them shiver a bit. Tony let out a soft grunt as he got to his feet and seemed to effortlessly carry the other man over to the bed.

"You're a lot stronger than I expected." Stephen's arms tightened around his neck, and he tensed as Tony sat down onto the bed, reclining and setting Stephen on his chest just as he had during their last visit before.

"Everyone's a gym fanatic these days, you know," the engineer chuckled and Stephen laid himself overtop of him, chest to chest as his arms went around the engineer's neck and tucked his head under his chin. The brunette gently ran his hands over Stephen's back, down his lumbar and over his ass in a light massage.

“I hadn’t heard. Is that a thing?” Stephen inquired playfully.

“Based on this body of yours you’ve gotta know a thing or two about it,” Tony teased as his fingers prodded and pried gently at muscles, soothing them under his hands.

“I certainly get a workout, but I don’t go to the gym. Even if I was interested, doing anything with weights which is often what gyms offer.”

“Have you considered yoga?” Tony grinned, despite knowing full well the man couldn’t see it.

“I do actually do yoga, since inquiring minds wish to know,” Stephen retorted, a little smirk settling on his own features. “You don’t think I’m as flexible as I am for no reason, do you?”

“I don’t think you’ve shown off any such flexibility for me.”

“Is that a hint? Maybe next time you visit we should explore that?”

“So I’m not getting a show now is what I’m hearing,” Tony prodded at him playfully, and Stephen chuckled, nestling in closer.

“No, you’ve got me all comfortable now. I’m not moving until I absolutely have to.”

“... well, my scotch is out of reach now. I was too busy with handfuls of you to grab it…” Tony lamented exaggeratedly, and Stephen poked at his side a bit before sitting up.

“You want to send a blind man whose brain was just fucked out to try and hunt down your scotch?”

“We could play one of those hot and cold games, and I can watch that ass of yours as you wander blindly. Could be fun. For me. But while I can't say it wouldn't be funny to watch you bumble around the room and grab my scotch, something tells me that even though I'm paying, you don't plan to do it anyway," Tony nudge his forehead with his nose. "I guess you win this one, I hope you're happy."

"Actually, I am, because it's nice to get a say or be the man on top for once," Stephen jabbed right back, walking his fingers up Tony's chest.

"Now, I know you don't mean that," Tony quirked a brow and Stephen chuckled in response.

"Ah, you see right through me now, don't you?" his hand stopped at Tony's collarbone and stayed put, and Tony returned a squeeze and rubbed the bristles of his beard over Stephen's cheek.

"Well, maybe not but at least I can see," he jabbed right back and let out a heavy relaxed sigh, hands coming back up to rest around Stephen's midsection. "I guess I'll just have to suffer without my scotch, woe is me now."

"Oh psh," Stephen shoved Tony's shoulder playfully and it earned him one right back as Tony flipped him over, pressing a knee in between Stephen's legs and going for his neck.

“That’s… not fair!” Stephen responded, though his head tilted back as he laughed softly, his fingers running into Tony’s hair.

It all felt natural. It felt real… and when Tony got home that night, the weight of how real it felt hit him in droves.

He lay in his bed staring at the ceiling tugging a spare pillow into his arms and hugging it close, pointedly reminded of the idea that as much as he would’ve loved to stay with Stephen, to hold him for the night… Stephen didn’t even know who he was. As excited and enthusiastic as he’d been, it was hard to say how much of it was legitimate - how much was heartfelt.

He’d done this to himself, he realized over the next month as his visits with Stephen left him feeling less and less satisfied. Oh sure, sexually he was well cared for, but there was a lot he was missing - the romance, the sweetness, even the fact that the other only referred to him as ‘sir’ and never by his name.

He wasn’t sure if Stephen noticed - it didn’t seem like it, as the man seemed just as eager and excited to have him visit as he had for a while - but it was certainly weighing on Tony. Eventually, the weight of it became too much and Tony didn’t go back for his regularly scheduled appointment. He needed to get his head on straight and he knew it.

Attending a brothel because there were no concerns about growing attachments had clearly backfired. 

He was attached.

Even if he told Stephen who he was now he had no way of knowing what would happen - would Stephen be angry with him for hiding his identity all this time? Would he even care? Would Stephen continue to act the same way, and was it an act at all?

He’d made a decision to come clean after nearly a month without visiting the other. The questions were ones that kept him awake at night, chasing themselves around in his head over and over. He’d botched up having a relationship with the man before by not acting soon enough, and he had to accept that he had an opportunity to make amends for that. 

He wanted to make amends. He wanted to repair that relationship.

It seemed he’d missed the opportunity again however.

“What do you mean he’s not here? Is… is there a number I can contact him at? Or an address-”

“Mister Stark, for the safety of our employees we can’t give that kind of information out,” the hostess - Alice - clarified politely. “He isn’t well and requires some time away to heal up. You’re welcome to call in and check if he’s returned, or we can set you up with another employee in the meantime?”

“I… thank you. I’ll check-in again sometime,” Tony left, dejected and concerned.  _ Was Stephen sick? Had he been hurt? _

Tony had in fact followed up on the call the next day, rather than going in he called up the place and received the same message he'd been told when he'd gone in person.

This was repeated for a couple days, realizing after the third call his mind started to wander, and wonder if the receptionist had been instructed specifically not to tell him that he wanted to give the man his patronage.

It hurt, like a knife being driven through his chest at the idea, but then again maybe he was getting ahead of himself this time. After all, if there was anything to come out of this, Tony had made the first step to sever contact, what if Stephen had developed feelings in some way and he'd gone and mucked about with it all by simultaneously deciding for himself that this wouldn't work out?

What if he'd cursed the relationship with his forthcoming thoughts, doomed it to fail from anxiety alone?

He was a puddle on the couch, whiskey in hand, and for a man who seemed to have everything in the world, he had absolutely nothing at all but his technology, his money and most of all and simply himself.

"Sir, a package has arrived by courier for you," Jarvis alerted him and he perked as Pepper, his CEO and dear friend, brought it in. She flashed him a sad look, not in on the complications of his affairs but able to see through him - his looks said it all, as if she'd never seen him like this to this degree of anguish.

"If you need anything else, Tony, please don't hesitate to ask," she took his glass away from him and he almost sat up to stop her.

"Hey, I'm not done with that yet!" he frowned and she gave him a look.

"Yes, you are," she gave him a mothering and knowing look before confiscating his bottle and depositing the package on the table. With a heavy sigh, he sat up, grabbing the small parcel wrapped delicately and with so much care, black parchment, no return address with a red silk bow on the top.

He frowned at it, tugging the tips of the ribbon and unravelling it. He was surprised at the contents of the box. His heart sank as he realized what was inside, the silk red blindfold - but also a small card, messily hand-written in black india ink.

He picked it up and he felt his chest tighten from the shock of the message.

' _ Come see me again? _ ' He mouthed the words and turned the card, tilting his head.

A familiar address on the back, with no signature at the bottom.

He couldn’t fathom how Stephen had gotten his address which was the first thought that crossed his mind, second - Stephen knew who he was to have been able to find him. Even if he had somehow reached out through the agency to get his address he knew who he was addressing the package to and that meant there were no secrets anymore.

Stephen had been aware, he didn’t know how long but he knew and most important at all, had chosen to reach out even after all of this.

_ He smiled. _

He didn’t go immediately, recognizing his intoxication being a bit of a factor in the matter. As much as he wanted to, he didn’t wind up attending the brothel again until the next day. The same room was assigned to him as always, but to his surprise and unlike so many other times he’d visited recently, he once again found Stephen kneeling at the end of the bed, a black blindfold covering his eyes and his hands tucked behind his back, quiet rather than enthusiastic.

There was something different about him, as well, seeing his hands covered in gloves and the man’s head bowed lowly. His body language spoke wonders and he wondered exactly what had changed.

Everything felt… wrong.

“Stephen?”

The man on the floor flinched at his name and seemed to become smaller in his spot somehow. He didn’t say anything to acknowledge Tony, but he had no doubts that Stephen had heard him.

“You’ve… been out for a while. I didn’t request a blindfold, what’s with that?” he tried to keep his tone light and friendly, but the air in the room felt stifling.

“I’m sorry. I… didn’t think you’d come.”

“You asked me to, why wouldn’t I visit you?”

“You were gone for some time…” Stephen responded softly, sounding uncharacteristically meek as he spoke. The words hit Tony hard, though, as he wondered again whether Stephen had grown attached, whether his absence had somehow hurt the other or whatever the reason was.

“I’m sorry… I got caught up in some things…”

He took a few steps closer to the kneeling figure, his fingers brushing against the blindfold gently. “You don’t have to wear this. You clearly know who I am, though I’ll have to ask what I did to give it away eventually…” Tony tried to joke again, but the man simply flinched again and curled into himself further.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have… It wasn’t my place to reach out like that and… ruin your fantasy.”

“It’s fine. It’s okay. What’s going on? What’s with all this…?” Tony sighed finally, kneeling in front of the man and reaching to tug off the blindfold himself. The idea of seeing the other’s eyes again felt like it would’ve been a treat, but for the fact that Stephen kept them trained on the floor rather than looking at him.

“Stephen? What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have sent-”

“Stop it,” Tony interrupted firmly. “I’m glad you did, okay? Just… hey, look at me, will you? I’ve missed your eyes…”

When Stephen looked up finally, the emotion that sat in the man’s eyes stole his breath away. He didn’t know what he’d done to earn that - was it lying to him? Concealing his identity? He didn’t know. 

He didn’t know why Stephen was so low, so sad…

“I missed you.”

Stephen’s expression broke at that, and in a moment his arms were flung around Tony, knocking the man back onto his ass as the other held to him tightly. “I-I missed you,” the other sobbed softly against him.

Tony felt his heart sink,  _ what had he done? _

Every sob and shake from the other resonated through him entirely and his arms came around Stephen's shoulders, wrapping the man in a tight hug. He held him in a near vice, worried that if he let go the man would slip away from him once more, the full effect of what he'd done started to really sink in.

He'd been selfish. So entirely thoughtless, to think so far into things that the other man didn't want his company and to simply abandon him for an extended period was the equivalent of ghosting a loved one.

He could only imagine what it took the other to go through and find his address, and then the hoops and hurdles he had to jump through to send a parcel to him. He made his address relatively hard to get ahold of, this took dedication, time, effort.

"Hey… Come on now, I'm here, there's no reason to be sad, I'm not going anywhere." A weight was lifted off his chest. His hand came up to cup the back of Stephen's head and he ran his fingers through the man's hair like he was something delicate and precious, fragile.

"I'm sorry, I guess I didn't consider how this would all affect you," he sighed softly, tipping Stephen's chin up to look at him. Clear-as-ice blue eyes stared up at him, beautiful eyes - though he wished they weren't filled with tears.

"Show me a smile?" he asked softly, pressing a kiss to Stephen's forehead, the man still trembling in his arms, hands especially. "It's nice to finally see those beautiful eyes of yours, but filled with so much sadness?" he tilted his head trying to lighten the mood a bit as he rubbed the other man's chin softly.

Stephen smiled as requested, though it was fragile and didn’t meet his eyes. After a moment Stephen sat back a little bit and brushed at his face, scrubbing away the tears as he tried to pull himself together - at least enough to look presentable.

“I’m sorry,” Stephen reiterated, his voice sounding oddly more cheerful, and it became readily apparent that the man was attempting to do as he was told. To make Tony feel better. “It wasn’t… this wasn’t your fault. I… I shouldn’t have reached out like this. If… if you don’t want to be here, it's not your obligation, my apologies. I… I can go freshen up, otherwise. We can have a good time still if… you want. If you’d rather not, I understand. I… certainly set a poor mood.”

"Stephen, bud," Tony started, lightly running his hands up the sides of his arms, watching the man sadly. "Talk to me, like a real human being, like a person - a friend," he started, withdrawing his grasp flashing him a sad smile.

"Please," he added softly, "what's wrong?" 

He withdrew to a degree, sitting there in front of the man perched in his lap. Everything in his mind had switched to a more paternal mode, and he couldn’t think about sex when faced with consoling a friend in need. 

A friend he needed - they both needed.

Stephen’s eyes dropped to the floor, his gloved hands fidgeting for a moment before he simply looked away, shaking his head. “I’m worthless.” The words shot through Tony like electricity, but before he could interrupt the other - or deny him - Stephen continued.

“I ruined my own career, I can’t keep my friends - I hurt some of them, in fact - nothing I did could fix my hands. I can barely write. I let strange men and women fuck me every day to sustain a roof over my head, and I don’t know what I’m even doing it all for… I’m getting old, I’m lucky anyone deigns to request me to begin with… eventually, this won’t be feasible anymore. Then what?”

The man’s hands stilled and he looked at the gloves in loathing. “I thought in the short term maybe… there would be something. But I’ve tried everything already. I’ve tried. I need to come to terms with the fact that I’m… never going to use my hands again. Not the way I used to. Nor even like everyone else. Someone… reminded me of that, very clearly.”

Tony's hands gently tugged at the gloves, he pulled them off and seized one of Stephen's hands. He gently raised it to his lips, setting a gentle, drawn-out kiss upon his knuckle.

"Hands or not, you are still perfect, still a treasure to me," he started running his thumbs over Stephen's knuckles. "I would buy you outright if it were possible, put a roof over your head, this goes so much farther than just this place you have to understand," Tony continued, sliding a hand up Stephen's wrist and tugging him forwards, into his chest.

"You are worth the money, the time… Everything," Tony continued, though there was a hesitance in him regarding how much he could really say to the other without exposing himself and how much the other might be comfortable with.

"You can talk to me..."

“You left,” Stephen responded quietly against his chest, simply allowing the man to hold him despite that his tone didn’t seem improved. “You left and I didn’t know if I’d done something to chase you away. You left before, too. You left for years. I figured… I’d never see you again.” The words might’ve sounded bitter if they weren’t so overly defeated. 

“I thought you’d left again. I didn’t care if you wanted to pretend you were... anonymous, or if it meant I’d never really see you… I was just happy to have you in my life again. Then I started to wonder if you’d grown bored of me. Your attentions were always fickle, the way you went through women was remarkable… I thought maybe I was another. Would you even be here if I hadn’t asked you to come?” The man shook his head suddenly at that.

“But here you are anyway…”

"I-" Tony placed his arms around Stephen's waist once again and squeezed him. "That was not my intention..."

He paused for a brief moment, too afraid, too much of a coward to truly confront the brunt of his emotions for this man, despite the other man offering himself up as a human sacrifice.

"I was just confused… There was, so much going on between us, I didn't think it would be right to let you know I was keeping a secret identity," he started, soothing a hand over Stephen's back, "I just- it was by coincidence that I happened upon you in here, and then I just didn't know what to do with myself afterwards. I asked for you, but wouldn't it be weird if I showed up and paid for sex from someone who I once considered one of my best friends?" he slowly trailed off again.

"I've had the wool pulled over my eyes so many times, and with all things given, I couldn't handle that I was lying to a friend, I'm sorry Stephen..." Tony let out a deep breath. "I've been through a lot… in the time we lost contact."

The other closed down, falling silent for a moment before simply nodding. “I’m sorry. You don’t owe me anything, Tony, not explanations or care or anything else. I… wasn’t trying to put any of this on you. I’m sorry,” he repeated quietly.

It took him a moment before he tried to sit up again, glancing briefly at Tony again before dropping his eyes to the floor and taking a deep breath. “Um… I’m… gonna clean up, if that’s… if it’s okay. I’ll shake myself out of this.”

Tony refused to let him go, keeping him settled in his lap, arms tightening protectively as he hauled the doctor back in and cuddled him against his chest.

"No… don't. None of this is an inconvenience, I really wanted to see you again, honestly," he paused, hooking his chin over Stephen's shoulder. "I don't want you to leave, I don't want to leave. Let me… hire you, privately. We could keep the routine going, you'd still get paid, whatever wage I would match it and offer so much more..." his voice almost cracked in desperation.

Stephen was still for a long time before he finally gave a nod, tucking his face away and cradling his hands against his chest. “If… you’re sure… then…”

“I’m sure,” Tony responded resolutely, hold the man close and nuzzling his hair gently. “I’m sure. Just tell me what you need, how we can make this work. I’ll make sure you have a roof over your head, that you have food and… you don’t have to sleep with anyone else if you don’t want to. We can fix things. I’ll take care of you.”

The man in his lap simply nodded again quietly, though he made no further efforts to move. “Okay.”

“Okay,” he repeated, brushing at Stephen’s hair gently. “I’ll… I’ll talk to the proprietor and… you and I can make some arrangements. I can drop you off at home or… you can come back with me, whichever you like.”

“I’ll make my own way home later, it’s fine.”   


“It’s no inconvenience, Stephen…”

“I like the fresh air, after…”

“Okay.”

The two of them sat there, any time Tony sensed any sort of stress in the other man he immediately comforted him, checked on him. The only time they moved was due to Tony's ass getting sore sitting there on the ground.

Rather than cuddling up on the bed as per usual, they sat, side-by-side with Tony's arm around the other man. He wanted Stephen to feel safe, to feel secure, to make him feel that he was there for him and above all else - make him feel like his patronage didn't need to be the reason they continued to talk or stay together.

Eventually, they did end up laying down, Tony having coaxed Stephen down against his chest, though with no sexual favours and Tony remained fully clothed just like their second night, comforting and spending time with Stephen.

He gauged the energy of the situation, and when he felt it appropriate he offered Stephen a hand to come with him to the proprietor to contract exclusive rights to his services.

Stephen was still a bit teary-eyed, which was at some point cause for concern to the lady, but it eased away when Stephen assured this was what he wanted, and signed the contract, Tony giving the man another gentle kiss before escorting him out of the building.

"If you're sure you don't want a lift home, it's no burden on me,” he handed Stephen a phone, rather than a calling card. "Take your time, all my numbers are in here, every way to reach me including Happy. You call him when you're ready and he will come and pick you up if he's not available, Pepper will."

“We can… meet up on Friday, as usual, if you’d like,” Stephen offered, giving the phone a look of confusion for a long moment, before nodding and tucking it away. “Just… let me know when you’re available. When you’d like to see me. I’ll make time,” he added softly, hesitantly leaning to kiss the man’s cheek.

Tony nudged his cheek aside and took his lips instead, running a hand through his hair.

"Fridays work for me, but don't feel like there's any sort of obligation. Money is no object, and I'd rather you get yourself together first before forcing yourself into anything sooner than you really should." He rubbed his back, bumping his forehead up against Stephen's.

“It’ll be fine. I took plenty of time off to deal with this already…” Stephen responded. “I’ll call on Friday morning and make arrangements.”

“Alright. I’ll see you on Friday then.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	3. Chapter 3

Stephen was picked up the following Friday morning and driven out to the Avengers compound overlooking a beautiful vista of the lake that the property butted up against. The suave black car pulled up and Happy unloaded Stephen's immediate luggage while a Uhaul carried the rest of it with a hired driver.

A room was prepared, as per contract, and everything had been worked out to Stephen's chagrin. When he finally stepped inside the building it was a much welcomed changed to the deep crimson and black interior of the previous establishment.

"Welcome, Doctor Stephen Strange," Friday greeted as he walked in, the ex-surgeon seemed startled by the A.I. system that quickly introduced herself and gave him the briefest run-through of the building.

Tony had given him permission to traverse almost anywhere in the building, even his workshop (though the Avengers training and mission grounds were off-limits, mostly for Stephen’s safety) and as the ex-surgeon was being briefed, Tony had come up from his den in the basement with a smile and held his arms open to greet his friend.

"Stephen!" He walked over, the other dropped his luggage and accepted a warm hug from Tony as he placed a kiss on the man's cheek. "Hope the drive wasn't too crazy for you..."

“No, it was a beautiful drive,” Stephen responded cheerfully, wrapping his arms around Tony and giving him a light squeeze. “I… should get this stuff to my room and out of the way, just… settle everything. If you want to show me where I’m going? Or… the ceiling voice can give me directions if you’re busy with things…? You’ve already gone through so much trouble…”

"Like I'd invite you all the way out here and just let Friday show you around," Tony smiled and put an arm around Stephen, leading him towards his private wing in the compound.

"Friday should have you all programmed into the system, only you can access this wing," Tony brought Stephen over to a set of very bland metal doors but once they'd opened and gone inside it was much warmer and more casual.

"This is my wing. You, of course, have your very own apartment here," he led Stephen to the door of his apartment and gently ushered his hand onto the touch-key pad. "No keys, no problem, your stuff will be brought in for you," he smiled, showing Stephen inside his apartment which was generous in the amount of space it provided which a rough estimate would be about 1600 square footage of living space.

"Mine is just across the hall and you are welcome to enter at any time, Friday is programmed to let you in anywhere in this wing," his fingers gently curled around Stephen's hips and squeezed.

“These are… quite the accommodations, Tony… you’ve really outdone yourself,” Stephen responded as he looked around from his spot, not moving away from Tony’s hold as he allowed himself to be escorted around the quarters. An open concept living, dining and kitchen area all melded seamlessly together, with two floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the vast greenery of the compound property.

“Well, the whole place was originally built for the Avengers but since the Avengers aren’t exactly a thing anymore…” Tony shrugged a little, trying to dismiss the thought of it as it was still something of a raw spot. “It’s massive and lonely here on my own, but this wing was always my personal space, so this apartment has only ever really been a guest suite. Now it’s yours,” he added with a grin.

“So no one comes here anymore?”

“Oh, people come here sometimes. Not often, unfortunately. Rhodey’s busy, usually, and has his own place. Pepper’s the same way. Peter pops by occasionally - you’d love him. Smart like a whip, that kid. Pepper has meetings for Stark Industries here sometimes because it has plenty of space and doesn’t need to be booked in advance. I thought of getting a pet or something, goats to keep the lawn maintained or something, you know?”

“Goats, Tony?”

“Yeah, that’s what Pepper said, too. Killjoys, both of you.”

Stephen chuckled at that, scooting out of the way in surprise as Happy made his way in to place Stephen’s bags. “Ah! And Happy, of course. You remember Happy, I’m sure,” Tony grinned.

“We did just have a car ride together, but yes, I remember Happy,” Stephen responded drolly, smiling at the man warmly. “Thank you for your help, Happy.”

“And Happy, you remember Stephen?” the man entirely ignored him as he gave Stephen a little nod and a smile of his own.

“Good to see you again, Doctor Strange. I’m sure the boss will appreciate having someone to keep him company again.”

With that, the man dismissed himself again and Tony huffed a little. “It’s like I don’t even exist.”

“Well, the Uhaul still needs dealing with. Did you want to do something while everything is unloaded? I can organize and settle in later if you wanted to show me around?”

"Of course," Tony started, a hand on Stephen's back between his shoulder blades as he lead him through the apartment.

"My apartment is basically a mirror of yours, except of course, with a much more personal flourish to it, ta-da!" Tony's apartment really didn't look all that much different, except for the butt-imprints on the couch and the unmade bed.

"I see. Very personal indeed," Stephen said a little dryly though with a hint of humour.

"Actually, your place probably has a lot more character than mine," he laughed showing him the bedroom, it all seemed normal, very modern. "If you need anything, you just ask Friday, food, entertainment - me," he teased. "She'll get you anything you want. The compound also has an exercise facility, a public cafeteria, literally anything you could think of and ask for, Friday will get it for you." Tony soon lead him out of his own apartment and down the hall to another door at the end of the wing.

"This is the playroom," Tony reached over and pressed his finger to the keypad and it let them both in. The place was the size of a gymnasium with all sorts of fancy machines. Except, it was really just a dungeon.

There were hammocks, swings, benches, tables, different suits, collars - everything under the sun outfitted the much more dark-lit room, much like the brothel Tony had hired Stephen out of. "We can probably get more exercise in here than the gym,” Tony winked ”I've got about everything here you could think of, including things you probably wouldn't have thought of," he chuckled softly and lead him around.

Stephen seemed to be much more fixated on the collection of things in the room, modern, medieval, the place seemed so pristine and untouched it was almost like this place was more of a museum than a playpen for adults.

“Have you actually used this place, or do you just have absolutely excellent cleaners?” he inquired after a moment, a hand reaching to gently touch some of the leathers and wood in the room, pausing suddenly and looking between Tony and the Iron Man suit in a corner, before pointing. “Should I ask about that, or am I better off not knowing?”

“Depends, do you want it to be a surprise, or do you want all the fun spoiled in advance?” Tony shot back with a little smirk.

“... right, so it wasn’t just misplaced. That’s… good to know. I think,” the man chuckled softly, eyeing the machine for a moment longer before continuing to look around.

“Oh! We can play doctor, too,” Tony grinned at him a little, showing off a small side room that looked entirely too much like an examination room. “Everything works, too. And stirrups are fun, right? I should show you my collection of costumes. I barely remember what you look like in a white coat, and I have to say I’ve had some thoughts!”

“ _ Tony _ ,” Stephen laughed a bit, sounding only mildly scandalized by the statement. “What are you-”

“You might’ve inspired this room. Heroing injuries might’ve also inspired this room to be fully functional. I brought Bruce through the playroom once to get him to help me set my shoulder,” he grinned, “ohhh you should’ve seen his face. The poor man.”

“Is it your mission in life to embarrass everyone you meet?”

“Only the ones I like. C’mon, I’ll show you the costumes. We should get you fitted for some, too. Wouldn’t that be fun?” Tony’s grin widened as he led Stephen back through the playroom with a little laugh.

Tony guided Stephen into another room which looked like a massive walk-in closet. There were cubbies and racks of different props, toys and outfits extending from bare and scandalous to fully-clothed and even 'mascot' in nature.

An entire section was dedicated to latex and straps, collars, thigh-high stockings, girly, masculine, promiscuous - there wasn't a thing here that Tony didn't have and if it wasn't, there was no doubt he'd have it there within a day regardless.

"I think this has to be my personal fav." Tony walked up to one of the hangers and pulled down a latex suit, long-sleeve with thumb-hole offshoots in the side." He held up the shiny piece of gear before reaching for another outfit which was more akin to the same thing but in the style of a high-neck halter that zipped up from the backside.

"Are you trying to imply that I'm into dark colours, Tony?" Stephen asked with some amusement.

"No more than I am, and latex - I don't know, I'm sure this is something we'll both find out, but I can't give you all the answers just yet," he winked playfully and Stephen seemed particularly fascinated with the latex attire.

"Well someone seems eager to play," Stephen jested softly.

"And what if I am? We could always pick out an outfit for the other, see what works, surprise the other?" he proposed with a quirk of his brow. "Wouldn't that be fun?"

“You want me to pick out something for you?” the man looked a little taken aback by that, and Tony gave him a bewildered look.

“I mean if you want to? Wouldn’t it be more fun that way? You dress me up however the mood strikes you, I dress you up however the mood strikes me… mutual enjoyment? I’d make a damn sexy nurse and you know it,” he teased, wiggling his butt at the man playfully, before holding up the latex suits again and eyeing them up. 

“Do you have a preference? I think you’d look gorgeous in both of them. But then, I imagine you’d look gorgeous in a cupcake onesie, so… that might not be saying much. Point remains, sexy as fuck.”

Stephen chuckled at that, shaking his head a bit and rolling his eyes. “We could both wear one? Make horrible squeaking noises and struggle to rub against each other?”

“You act like I don’t have lube, or the will to make a lube wrestling pit.”

“A lube… wrestling… Tony,  _ what the hell? _ ” Stephen laughed outright at that, and the expression was brilliant, warming Tony rather entirely from within.

Tony returned his own wide grin and he walked Stephen back to his apartment, arm still around his waist, where he stopped and left the doctor to his own devices.

"Well, that's it, that's the wing. I'll let you have some time to settle in and if you need any assistance or company for that matter, you can just walk right in. Seriously, don't be a stranger, Stephen." The engineer leaned in and gave the other man a kiss on the cheek with a smile.

"What about dinner later?" Stephen inquired, grabbing Tony's wrist as he turned to leave, the engineer practically lit up when did.

"Dinner sounds like a plan, any preferences?" Tony tilted his brow.

"Sushi or pizza?" Stephen asked and the brunette chuckled heartily.

"Why not both?" he quirked a brow.

"Not the most compatible combination but I'm definitely in for that."

* * *

He didn’t mean to call Stephen to dinner like he did.

Friday alerted them to smoke being detected and despite how quickly Tony told her to just vent it off Stephen was in his apartment in a rush, looking thoroughly adorable in a wool shawl and oversized clothes as he stared at Tony’s sheepish grin.

“What…?”

“... I uh… I was making pizza!” Tony coughed a little and gestured to the burnt mess that was once a very promising pizza. Stephen’s eyebrows raised impossibly and Tony sighed. “Clearly it wasn’t my most successful endeavour.”

Stephen shook his head and covered his mouth to stifle a soft laugh, moving into the kitchen to help him clean up the crispy charred brick. “I hope you didn’t try to make sushi, too. You might kill us both,” the man teased and Tony wrinkled his nose at the other, trying to fan some of the smoke out of the room.

“Of course not. I let Happy make sushi. He’s a good cook, you know.”

“Is he trained in the art of sushi?”

“He’s trained in the art of driving, so he’s seeking out professionals and we shall have fresh sushi shortly,” Tony assured, pouting as Stephen dumped his attempt at a pizza into the food waste bin. “... you wanted pizza and sushi. Now I dunno if I should make Happy stop for sushi or…”

“Grab supplies. We can try again. Maybe in my kitchen, while yours airs out? It needs to be broken in anyway,” Stephen offered with a small smile.

"I guess this time I probably shouldn't juggle tasks..." Tony admitted a little sheepishly as he grabbed a basket and tossed all the necessary ingredients and supplies in and followed Stephen back into his apartment.

Stephen rolled his eyes. "You know, cooking is exactly like work, you need to pay attention to it, you can't just walk off and pretend that everything is going to be fine when you come back to check on it."

Tony seemed to be caught in his tracks on that one, a guilty look on his face as he started to spread out the ingredients.

"And that's why you are here now! Hey, don't knock a guy who tried to make you dinner, I put thought into that charred brick in the oven!" Tony tried to salvage his excuse and Stephen let out another snicker and started to pull out a cutting board and sift through the vegetables that needed to be cut up.

Half an hour of preheating and about thirty-minutes later the pizza was done, better than expected with a _ not  _ burnt pizza, perfectly cooked with sushi being served in Stephen's apartment. Happy had brought it to Tony's room, but Tony wasn't there so he had to call him and redirect the order to Stephen's apartment. The food was delivered and laid out and they opted for eating at the doctor's apartment considering Tony's smelt like burnt crust at the moment and was a little smokey.

Under Stephen's supervision, dinner turned out just fine, though Happy's sushi still turned out much better.

“It looks nice in here,” Tony commented as they finished eating, looking around the more set up apartment. Unlike Tony’s chic modern blacks and silvers, Stephen’s apartment - while still a little bit boxed and disorganized - looked considerably warmer. “It’s way different than your old condo… everything felt almost sterile in there.”

“I’ve gained an appreciation for aesthetic warmth,” Stephen shrugged, remaining curled on the couch with his knees up, the shawl wrapped around him and making him look rather adorably cozy as he cradled a cup of tea between his hands.

“I can imagine. Did you really end up having to sell off all your old stuff? Didn’t keep any of it?” Tony inquired over his cup of coffee.

“Most of it. I have a little bit of clothing, my old laptop and a watch from… well, someone you wouldn’t know. It’s broken, so it wasn’t worth much to sell anyway. I was wearing it during my accident…”

“Someone special?” Tony inquired, finding himself rather curious even as Stephen gave a vaguely dismissive shrug.

“We dated for a little while. She deserved a lot better than how I treated her. I chased her off as much as anyone else in my misery over my hands.” Tony tried to convince himself he wasn’t jealous of the mystery woman, but he couldn’t seem to keep in his query.

“Do you miss her?”

“As a friend, yes. I expect she’s considerably better off without my pessimism, however, and I’d rather that she was well off than constantly worrying about me.”

“Did you love her?”

Stephen looked at him, his expression oddly hard to read, before the former surgeon shifted in his spot to lean against Tony. “I don’t know. Maybe? Does it matter? I’m here, with you.”

“You really do say the sweetest things,” Tony chuckled a little, wrapping an arm around him and letting go of the subject of the mystery woman. “Is there anything you need? I mean, you have a phone now, but did you need anything else? You have all the furniture and whatnot? You said your laptop is old, I could--”

“Tony,” Stephen cut in with a chuckle. “Right now I’ve got a roof over my head, food in my stomach, clothes on my back, and a place I feel safe. You’ve already been clear that you’re happy to provide whatever I need, but I have everything I need.”

"I just want to make sure you are completely aware that you are taken care of. I care, and I'm not just saying this from the standpoint of an employer, but a friend, a close friend who’s looking out for you," he smiled and gave the man in his arms a hefty squeeze.

"I'm better than fine, thanks to you - stop fretting. If it makes you feel better, yes - I know, I won't hesitate to ask if I end up needing help in some way, but even still... The money you're paying me is more than enough to compensate for that, it always has been,” Stephen assured softly, reaching above his head to run his fingers through Tony's beard.

The engineer leaned in, and applied yet another kiss to the other man's forehead, closing his eyes and enjoying the moment they shared.

Stephen reached up and grabbed the back of his head and for once everything felt like the stars had aligned - like everything was in its natural place. Tony closed his eyes and kissed the top of Stephen's head, squeezing affectionately as he nosed into the surgeon's hair.

"I appreciate the thought," Stephen hummed softly, eyes closed.

There wasn't much else at the moment Tony felt like doing. He would turn on the TV, but he wanted to be entirely invested at the moment without any sort of distractions. But some distraction was fine, at least with Stephen, maybe a movie? In hopes that the other man would fall asleep on his lap.

"While we're here, like this, should we put on a movie?" he rumbled softly, bumping his forehead with Stephen's.

“Hmmm? I thought you had plans for something involving latex outfits,” Stephen responded with a wry grin. 

“You look adorable and comfy, what kind of monster would make you change?” Tony scoffed dramatically. “The latex can wait until tomorrow.”

“And the blindfold?"

“What?” Tony sat up to give the other a confused look.

“The blindfold… the one I sent to you. Are you planning to keep that, or…?”

“That… is not very conducive to a good movie watching experience.”

“I meant… ah, never mind,” Stephen shook his head, looking away as though embarrassed.

“... did you want it back? I can grab that for you if you want to put a movie on? But I wouldn’t recommend putting it on for a movie,” he reiterated, shifting to sit up a bit and releasing Stephen. “I should make some popcorn, too. I promise I won’t burn that,” he added with a little smile, still trying to puzzle out why the other man wanted the blindfold. Not that he was opposed to returning it to him - it had been a gift to him, after all, but it seemed like an odd time to request it.

“Popcorn would be nice,” the taller man responded as he got up and shuffled towards the TV to take a peek through his DVDs, apparently willing to ignore the blindfold discussion for now. “Did you have a movie, in particular, you had in mind? Or a genre?”

"Something light? Comedic, adventurous?" he heard from the other man as he pulled a blanket over both of them and placed his arms gently around Stephen's neck as he navigated the console.

"There's one I haven't seen before," Stephen pointed out a show called 'Lucifer' with a smirk and Tony couldn't help but roll his eyes. 

"Let's watch it then," he grabbed the remote and the show started.

Stephen managed to stay awake for the first three episodes, which were engaging enough. Though during the fourth the ex-surgeon seemed to doze off, leaving Tony to look down at him, brush some hair out of his face before quietly shutting the television off and carrying him over to his bed.

He struggled with the idea of cuddling up with the other man, though for Stephen's own comfort, and not knowing his boundaries, he gave the man a brief kiss and made his way back to his own apartment after tucking him in.

* * *

The following morning was cheerful enough for Tony. Coffee had already been imbibed and by the time Stephen joined him he walked in to see Tony  _ attemptin _ g yet again to cook and a crooked smile settled on his face.

"Okay, before you say anything I didn't burn it this time, and I've been watching it!" he defended himself with a grin, a surprisingly reasonable plate of eggs and bacon waiting for him while he nursed the pancakes. "Though pancakes are almost done, I have to admit Happy helped me out with the rest."

“I’m starting to wonder how much you’d eat if it weren’t for Happy,” the man responded quietly, taking up a seat at the counter to watch Tony work.

“A lot. It would just be snacks and junk-food, mostly,” Tony admitted with a chuckle. 

“Did you sleep well? How was your morning? … I’d offer you coffee, but I feel like that would earn me a weird look. Uh, tea?”

“Tea would be lovely, thank you,” Stephen nodded, resting his chin in his palms. “I slept well. I don’t remember getting to bed, so I suppose I have you to thank for that, but it certainly made this morning all the more disorienting,” he explained as he watched Tony pull out a few boxes of tea for Stephen to choose from as he set up the kettle.

“I figured you’d be more comfortable in bed. Accidents take a toll on the rest of your body, too, even if they aren’t as visible… I wanted to try and make sure you didn’t wake up aching. I guess it takes some getting used to being in a new place.”

“Well, I also had nothing in any of the cupboards but my dishes, so… I was going to ask Friday where the cafeteria might be, but then I considered that it probably wasn’t stocked if no one was really here anymore…”

“Oh, the cafeteria is stocked anyway. Pepper makes use of it sometimes,” Tony reassured, “but I was making you breakfast, anyway! I mean, with Happy.  _ We  _ were making you breakfast. I only just shooed Happy a couple of minutes ago, so your timing is excellent.”

“Bacon, eggs, pancakes… quite a platter. Are we doing fruit salad, too?”

“Why would we…” Tony started, looking at the doctor before noticing the playful smile on his lips. “Maybe next time. I have the weekend mostly free, so we can hang out as much as you like, though Pepper’s got me going to a meeting early on Monday so I need to try and rest at a reasonable hour on Sunday.”

"Well don't let me stop you," Stephen chortled as Tony set the table, putting the plates down and the napkins. Soon enough came the meal itself, bacon, eggs and a generous amount of pancakes where it could have been clearly distinguished by the colour that Tony had tried, failed and Happy had taken over. 

The engineer nudged the plate forward, serving himself one of the pancakes that hadn't met its inevitable end to Tony's cooking follies, a helping of eggs and bacon, reaching over to serve Stephen as well.

He then realized what he'd done. 

"You'll have to pardon my manners, I'm sorry, it's been a while since I've had company," he added with a sheepish smile. Stephen raised a hand with a shake of his head.

"Seriously, don't worry about it," Stephen laughed and took the spatula from Tony, preferring to pick his serving himself.

The tea had finished steeping and Tony brought it over, a coffee for himself as he hopped up onto one of the barstools, his legs hanging over the side as he poked and prodded at his food, a soft smile as he finally took a bite, leaning on his elbow and looking over to Stephen.

"So… Any plans for the day?" he inquired with a genuinely vested interest in the other and what he planned to do with his time.

“That depends on you, doesn’t it?” Stephen responded after finishing off a piece of bacon. “I assumed the reason you showed me the playroom before anything else was to suggest something? Now that I’m all settled in…”

“I did tell you to take your time. I mean, despite all that, I still want you to feel more yourself before we do anything-”

“Tony, I’m fine. I told you. The packing and the change of scenery helps. I’d definitely prefer to earn my keep, as it were.”

He couldn’t say he liked the phrasing. There was something about it that made him feel uneasy. “You know I’m not going to kick you out if you decide you don’t want sex, right? I told you, as a friend I want to take care of you…”

Stephen looked at him for a long moment at that, picking at his eggs for a moment before giving a little nod and eating one of them. “I told you, I’m fine. I’m not some invalid who needs to be babied about these things. I haven’t seen you in a while though… in that capacity. I just thought it might be fun. You seemed excited about those suits yesterday, and it was nice to see you so enthusiastic about something again…”

Tony offered him a smile, he picked at his meal and nudged the rest around his plate. "I'm not suggesting that you're an invalid Stephen, I just don't want to stress you out in the end, just so you don't feel like there's any sort of obligation if you're not up for it is all," he held that smiled. "At the same time, if you've picked out a stunning costume for me, then I won't put you down if it was something you were really looking forward to this evening," he added, his smile turning playful.

"Well good, because I've got quite the outfit in store for you, " the doctor leaned forward and prodded Tony's chest in response.

"Is that so? I have quite the outfit ready for you in that case," he challenged, returning the figurative serve as he took another bite of his breakfast. "Nothing like some good exercise to get the day rolling, right?" Tony challenged but his tone went soft again as the moment seemed to become very real.

"I've missed you, Stephen, I know it's been a long time, but I'm really glad to have you back, and I'm glad I was able to help you out of your previous situation," Tony picked his words carefully, picking around at his plate, eyes averted uncharacteristically.

Stephen was quiet at that, focusing on his breakfast for a couple of long minutes before giving a little shrug. “I’ve missed you, too,” was all he responded with, returning to his meal shortly after without elaborating.

There was a long moment of quiet between them as they finished their breakfast, with Stephen taking his dishes to wash them before Tony could do anything to stop him.

“You don’t have to do that, you know,” he mustered and Stephen chuckled a bit at that, rolling his eyes. “I mean it. There’s literally a dishwasher right there,” he pointed, and Stephen glanced in the direction he was pointing.

“I don’t mind washing dishes.”

“A dishwasher is much more time-efficient.”

“Just eat your breakfast and let me do my thing,” Stephen scolded him with a hint of a pout, leaving Tony to smile a little wryly.

“If it makes you happy.”

“Maybe it does,” Stephen retorted, giving him a small smile. “Thank you for breakfast, by the way.”

"Thank you, though I do have to admit that Happy is once again to thank, as much as I would like to take credit for it.”

Tony smiled to himself, he let Stephen do as he wished, eating up the rest of his breakfast before handing his plate off to the side where Stephen quickly scooped it up to wash it by hand. He set it down on the dish rack before grabbing Tony's hand and leading him off towards the 'playroom.'

"I can't say I haven't been excited to have you all done up in the outfit I picked out." Tony quirked a brow, surprised as he was lead a little more exuberantly towards the other room. "I hid it in your closet," he added playfully and Tony smirked. 

"Perfect, because your's is waiting for you on the bench in the next room.

Tony let out a soft chuckle. "Meet you back here in 5-ish?" he offered, running his hand over Stephen's cheek.

"Sounds like a plan," he added and turned tail to head in the opposite direction. About eight minutes later the two met back up again, it almost seemed unsurprising they both picked out the same thing for one another.

A full-latex suit for the both of them and Tony couldn't help but tilt his head and tap his chin at what had happened. And then he flashed the other a full grin.

"Looks like we both had the _ same idea. _ "

“You sold me on it pretty easily yesterday, I have to admit,” Stephen responded with a small grin of his own, though his eyes were clearly roaming Tony’s latex-clad form. “You look even better than I anticipated. Lucky me.”

“Lucky both of us. Have you looked in a mirror?” Tony chimed cheerfully. “You look quite a sight, Stephen, honestly…”

“All I did was put on what you wanted, though I am surprised there isn’t a blindfold in the mix.” Tony wasn’t sure whether the other was teasing him or serious, though he took a moment to consider it before shrugging.

“I haven’t seen your eyes in a while,” he responded, hesitating briefly. “All this time and I only got to see so much of you… and you’ve always had such beautiful eyes. Not sure I wanna deprive myself of that sight, you know?”

Tony took a few steps closer to tilt Stephen’s head up, smiling as those gemstone eyes looked back at him, watching him with so much intelligence and curiosity. “... can you blame me for wanting to see all of your expressions?”

Stephen’s face promptly began to redden, his eyes dropping for a moment before glancing back up, oddly shy and flustered all at once. Tony couldn’t help but grin at that. “Oh, you’re cute.”

“... I am literally standing here in latex waiting for you to show me where, exactly, you plan to fuck me. Is now the time to be calling me cute?”

"It doesn't always have to be about that, I'm sure I could get enough of a meal out of you by just running my hands all over your body. Besides, you've never taken the time to just appreciate a good meal when it's served?" There was a hungry look in Tony's eyes as he stepped into Stephen's space and ran a hand over the smooth fabric of the suit, causing the black fabric to dimple and fan where he pressed down.

Stephen seemed to shudder a little, snaking his hands around Tony's hips and leaning into his body. "We just had breakfast Tony, and you're still hungry?" he teased softly.

"Is that a problem, Stephen? I've got a big appetite," he tilted his head to plant some kisses around on the side of the other man's neck causing him to giggle some, a little ticklish.

"No, no… I think I could muscle up some room for seconds myself."

The feeling of being decked in a complete latex suit only heightened the feelings of touch and sound. It was a different sensation, even with a layer of glossy fabric between them their senses were still just as prominent if not even more heightened at the moment.

"That's what I like to hear," Tony chuckled, winding his arm around his waist and directing him over to one of the playrooms he'd set up, having to reluctantly pull away to open the door and usher Stephen inside.

The interior was very similar to the brothel's, black leather couches, crimson and earthy brown walls, heavy wooden floors accented by a dark textile mat and low-lit pot lights hanging from the ceiling. There was a table off to one of the sides with cuffs and bindings, a shower and change room down the hall and along the wall, various chains and straps with a shelf brimming with more props, toys and different lubricants.

“Any safe words I should know about?” Tony inquired as he gave the room a quick look, trying to determine what to use.

Stephen slipped away and Tony couldn’t help but smile as he noticed the other found the red cloth that had been a blindfold once. “Unless you’re planning on engaging in some consensual non-consent, my safewords are ‘stop’ and ‘no’.”

“Nice and easy. Not forgetting that,” the engineer shrugged, before moving over beside him. “You asked for that back… it was for you anyway, so it seemed appropriate that you have it.”

Stephen’s fingers ran gently over the smooth fabric before he started to lift it to cover his eyes. 

“Stephen…” Tony sighed softly, reaching to take the cloth from him gently. “You got me all dolled up, and you don’t want to see? Is that what I’m to understand?”

“I’m… going to be honest, I was pretty confused since you just said you wanted to see my eyes,” Stephen responded, giving Tony a perplexed look as the engineer shook his head. He lifted his hands and the cloth before wrapping it loosely around Stephen’s neck, tying it in a rather immaculate bow.

“There. That’s better, isn’t it?”

“... am I your present?” the doctor inquired with a hint of amusement.

“In so many ways.” Tony hitched a finger into the bow to tug Stephen down for a soft kiss. If he had it his way, Stephen would be his future, too. But that was getting ahead of himself and he knew it.

He pulled the man down onto his lap, the two of them now seated on a long-stretched out leather couch. It was bordering a therapy couch but had an odd wave to its design. Any words that were to follow were promptly cut off by Tony locking his mouth over Stephen's once more, eyes dropping to half-mast as he savoured the feeling of the doctor’s body against his own, and the taste and feel of his lips.

His hands settled on Stephen's hips and just like their one time in the brothel where he had Stephen on his lap, he'd done it again, except thankfully this time there were no arms on this couch to cut off the poor man's circulation in his legs.

The room was filled with the sound of latex on latex, a sharp squeaking sound of the shiny fabric rubbing against itself. Stephen's hips gently ground into Tony's as the engineer reached a hand down to cup the very pronounced bulge between his legs.

Stephen groaned softly into the kiss, nudging his hips into Tony's palm, the engineer could feel him growing through the slick material, expanding under the fabric as he grabbed and molested him.

"Someone's excited," Tony teased softly and Stephen broke the kiss for a moment to give him a piece of his mind.

"Is that not to be expected?" he breathed and pushed Tony down a little more aggressively against the back of the couch.

"Can't argue there," he agreed softly, getting his words in before his lips were taken again and all he could do was palm eagerly at Stephen's crotch. His other hand reached for something off to the side, on one of the tables and he grabbed a small purple vibrator. 

"Give me permission and I'll strap you down and show you the time of your life," he chuckled between their furious kissing.

“Permission…? You do know I have certain… expectations of you, right?” Stephen teased in response, grinding up against Tony despite the resistance the latex caused. “As long as you’re cautious about the blood flow to my hands… you have my permission,” he added huskily against Tony’s ear, nibbling along the outer edge gently.

“I will always be careful with you,” Tony promised softly, laying him back over the couch and delicately guiding his hands up and over the sides. Setting the vibrator within hand’s reach. Tony fastened the first one, then the other wrist with thick leather straps.

“Is that alright?”

“Yes, they’re fine,” Stephen gave a little nod, offering a smile of his own as he cheekily wrapped his legs around Tony’s waist to pull him in close even without his hands. “But if you think I need my hands to be dangerous-”

“I can tie those down too, you know,” Tony warned, grinding against the other man regardless and watching as the other’s head rolled back as he moaned softly.

He scooted forward, seating the man up against his own throbbing bulge as he nudged himself in between Stephen's legs. He held up the vibrator, setting it on the lowest setting and pressed it to the man's fully erect bulge underneath the fabric, massaging along the underside of his cock.

The reaction was near-instant, he felt Stephen stiffen, legs tightened and the man threw his head back into the soft leather as his fists clenched momentarily and Tony leaned over him, caging him like a predator.

"How does that feel, hmm?" He rewarded with a breathy gasp from Stephen, moving the rounded tip of the vibrator in slow stroking motions as he upped the speed on it. It hummed softly and Tony grabbed Stephen's leg and started kissing up the side, keeping his eyes trained on the man at his mercy.

"-Tony!" he shut his eyes, head jerking to the side a bit.

"All this effort to see those beautiful eyes of yours and you go and close them," he teased. Stephen tried to open them and look down at the engineer but was clearly struggling with that.

"Wrists all good still?" Tony purred, half concerned and Stephen couldn't muster up more than a nod in response as his breathing picked up.

“Gonna need verbal clarification there beautiful,” Tony insisted, fairly certain things were okay, but knowing better than to get carried away.

“It’s… it’s fine, I’m good. Please…” Stephen whined softly, a low, needy rumbling of words as the man’s hips rolled up against the vibrator and, in turn, Tony.

“Good.” The engineer smiled some as he leaned forward to press a few kisses to the man’s jaw and over his throat, pulling the blindfold-turned-bow down a bit. “Look at this long elegant neck of yours… showing it off like this, you’re lucky I don’t bite you.”

“Please…!” the man gasped softly, and Tony’s lips twitched into a small smile.

“Please what, darling? You need to be more articulate than that…” 

The mogul had no plans of making that easy on him, of course. He dragged the vibrator along the length of the other’s cock, before dipping down to press it at Stephen’s perineum teasingly. An almost incoherent response greeted him at that and Tony pulled away to catch the other biting his lips, his eyes squeezed tightly shut.

“Please what, Stephen?”

“... you can…” Stephen managed, briefly, before tilting his head back further and to one side, offering his neck entirely.

“I can what…?”

“... bite me… i-if you want to…”

“... hmm, it sure sounded like  _ you _ wanted me to, is that the case…?” he teased softly.

“Y… yes…”

Tony nudged down the collar of the latex suit and the blindfold with it, just enough to expose the right amount of skin before leaning in and trailing his lips over it. He let out a few heavy teasing breaths, suckling, kissing, gently gnawing at the skin before he took Stephen's flesh in his teeth and put down much more pressure.

His lips sealed over his throat, tugging and leaving more than just a little mark. The other man let out a loud cry, nothing to tell Tony to stop but to signal some sort of response to the harsh stimulation.

Tony tapped the button on the side of the vibrator and turned up the speed, pressing it harder up against Stephen's crotch, dragging it coarsely over the man's cock once more and the doctor let out yet another loud howl of pleasure.

"You taste just as good as you look, perfect and sweet," he rumbled lowly against his skin, taking it again and Stephen cried once more, jerking a little harder on the bindings as his body started to stiffen.

Tony held the vibrator there, the other babbling and groaning and he could tell Stephen was close. He reached over once more, this time grabbing a bottle of lube off of the side table before squeezing out an excessive amount onto Stephen's chest and running his fabric-coated hands down his chest.

"Do hold out a little longer, if you can… I still want to taste you, and I want to feel every inch of your release against me," the engineer instructed huskily. 

Stephen simply gasped, mouth opening and closing as he tried to look at Tony, but could only at this point shut his eyes and crane his neck back. At that moment the engineer pressed in and slid his body along the ex-surgeon’s, meeting no resistance as he squished the heaps of lubricant between their forms.

“Tony…” the man whimpered his name and Tony couldn’t help but delight in it. It was something that had been missing before. Something he’d imagined finally becoming real as he rubbed and ground his form against the other’s, finally pulling up to watch the other’s face utterly lost in his bliss.

“Look at me,” he instructed lowly. “I want to see those eyes when you come, can you do that for me…?”

Eyelashes fluttered for a moment before glazed eyes settled on him, the former doctor panting and moaning as the vibrator continued its valiant assault, Tony’s body pressed down heavily overtop of him as the engineer smiled. “There you are… hi there,” he greeted quietly, though he wasn’t certain Stephen could hear him over his own moans and heavy breaths.

Moments later Stephen peaked, his body arching against Tony’s, his arms pulling at his restraints as he watched Tony blearily - or at least looked in Tony’s general vicinity. It was easy enough to tell the other was too out of it to fully focus on him and there was a certain pride he took in that. The man beneath him was trembling, shuddering and moaning in his grasp, and it made for quite a sight.

This was a pleasure almost on the same plane as reaching his own right there and as much as he'd plan to chase that at some point, at this moment now he was completely absorbed in the man underneath him nearly choking on his own orgasm.

"Cum for me, Stephen," he purred, pressing his lips down against the other man's cheek, whispering into his ear. "Let go, show me you can make a mess of these suits." The man underneath him flinched again and he rolled his chest and hips into Stephen's body.

Another yank on the chain and Stephen let out a hoarse mewl, his bodily contractions speeding up until his entire body seized and a choked gasp escaped as his eyes nearly rolled back into his skull. His hips bucked furiously into the vibrator, his cock pulsed and he arched his back, letting out a loud cry of Tony's name as the orgasm rolled over him.

The engineer immediately moved the vibrator away, vicariously experiencing that orgasm as he grasped onto the man like a lifeline.

"There… that's all better sweetheart, didn't that feel good? You're so beautiful when you cry my name, the way you arch your body, everything about you. So perfect," he crooned softly, a hand reaching up to undo the restraints as Stephen crumpled underneath him.

Stephen simply heaved, still unable to find his words, but as his arms fell down to his side from being unshackled he noticed the slack and they were immediately around Tony's shoulders, pulling him closer and the engineer returned the embrace.

“I’ve got you,” he whispered softly, pulling Stephen into his arms and sitting up some. “I’ve got you,” he reiterated as his fingers nestled in Stephen’s hair and the man’s chin settled on his shoulder, leaving Stephen to curl himself almost entirely around Tony. “You okay…?”

Stephen shuddered softly in his grasp, giving the smallest of nods as he buried his face into Tony’s neck. Tony smiled, rocking the two of them back and forth as he cradled the other securely in his arms. “It’s okay… you’re so good for me, Stephen.”

It took a couple of long minutes for the other to settle down a bit again, though when he stopped shaking in Tony’s arms, the man took the opportunity to ask again if he was alright, receiving a more vocal affirmation. “I’m good… I’m… thank you…” the doctor managed, remaining cuddled in against him. “... did… you…?”

“Oh I enjoyed myself immensely,” Tony reassured, brushing at his hair further. “We should get cleaned up a bit, hm? I was thinking that you mentioned not being a fan of working out at the gym because of the whole weight lifting thing but… how do you feel about swimming? There’s a big, heated pool in the rec area, a sauna and everything. We’ll get something set up for you with yoga, too, if you want. Maybe you can teach me a thing or two?

“But a bath, first. You can think on the rest of it while we get cleaned up.”

Tony grabbed Stephen's hand one last time, his hazel eyes focused on Stephen's exhausted blue ones as he took his hand and gently rubbed his knuckles, placing a determined kiss before he picked him up and carried him down the hall to the change room.

At the other end of the hall he set Stephen down on the side of a large open bath, water bubbling and already heated, soaps, towels, bath salts around the edge as he perched himself down on the tiled floor, propping Stephen upright with his knee and he slowly undid the latex suit and peeled it off.

Stephen shivered, exposed as Tony removed the tight skin. He chuckled as he finally got to his stomach and placed another soft kiss on Stephen's cheek. "What a lovely mess," he purred and that earned him a sheepish laugh from Stephen before helping the ex-surgeon out completely.

"Let me clean you up, take care of you, and we can just relax. How about that?" he soothed and Stephen nodded his head softly. 

"I'd like that, yes..." he smiled and Tony leaned in once again to steal a kiss from his lips.

Tony took the time to help Stephen into the bath before stripping out of his own latex attire and hopping in with him, not entirely unaware of the way Stephen looked him over. 

“I guess this is the first time you’ve seen me naked, isn’t it?” he poked at Stephen wryly and was rewarded with the vaguest hint of a blush as the other man seemed to realize he was being called out on staring. 

“Hey, I’m not saying stop. I look great and I know it,” he grinned all the more, nestling in against Stephen’s side.

“You do look good,” the other man agreed, resting against him and sighing as he relaxed, closing his eyes and resting his head on Tony’s shoulder. The engineer picked up a little sandalwood soap and a cloth to start cleaning the other.

“Flattery will get you everywhere with me,” Tony chuckled, easing his hands gently over the other’s skin.

It was the first of many oddly relaxing days between them. The compound didn’t feel as empty for the first time in months and Tony felt considerably less lonely. It made a difference. It meant the world to him.

He was starting to realize, Stephen meant the world to him, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	4. Chapter 4

Things became steadily more intimate over the months that followed. Their playdates only grew more adventurous and amorous, and Tony was starting to lose sight of the fact that Stephen was merely a man for hire. 

It was that or none of this was ever truly 'real' and Stephen was simply damn good at his job - a thought that only occasionally popped into Tony’s head.

There was no question that Tony was a good employer, in some senses, if not a good 'boyfriend'. The lines were beginning to blur and for a while, things went so well it was hard to even remember that he was paying Stephen for 'services'.

They spent nights together watching movies on the couch, had dinners in and out - Tony even went as far as to take Stephen with him to all of his social functions and treated Stephen as though the man was really, truly something special. To Tony, he was. So the engineer acted like he was in hopes that somehow if he did, it would absolve him of the fact that he'd plucked his dear friend from a brothel.

The days were always fun, but the nights could be especially lonely. He often wound up lying awake on his bed looking over at the empty spot beside him and the compound never felt so huge and so empty as at night before he went to sleep.

He had come to realize that Stephen had both a bed and a life of his own. 

Despite Tony's world revolving heavily around the man, there was no saying if the former surgeon felt the same about him - a point that was driven home from time-to-time when Stephen would turn him down for whatever reason. Tony began to sense that all the aftercare was insufficient when Stephen would take immediate leave after 'work' rather than stay around to bask in the billionaire's company.

One night in particular, after a long, stressful day at the office, Tony was feeling exactly that way again. Stephen hadn't come around for dinner in a while and he generally left the man to his devices, worried about spooking him or potentially ruining what they had going.

In his state that night he couldn’t fight the feeling that things were growing considerably worse and that all his careful attentions and joy at their situation had amounted to naught. 

Thankfully, Stephen obliged Tony’s summons. 

Tony was already in just his briefs getting ready for bed when the ex-surgeon let himself into his apartment, a sly smile on his face while Tony peered in from the door frame of the ensuite. Stephen was dressed in nothing but a silk housecoat, and the man's heart immediately melted as he slunk over to Stephen and wrapped his arms around the man sitting on the edge of his bed.

"No quick quips? Why Stark, that’s unbecoming of you! You really must have had a rough day," the other teased softly and Tony simply let out a deep breath cradling the man close to him like he was something sacred.

"Incredibly. It's nice to see you, Stephen, I thought it would be nice to just spend some time together, I just wanted some company."

“I’m always across the hall,” Stephen reassured, tugging Tony close and laying back across the bed to tug Tony down on top of him. “I’m here. I’m company. What can I do to help improve your mood?”

“The cuddles are a good start,” Tony responded relaxing against the other and holding him close.

“Did you wanna talk about it, or do you want a distraction, instead?” the doctor hummed softly, petting his hair a little, leaving Tony to sigh deeply.

“Just… this is good,” the engineer said, closing his eyes at first before feeling the silk shift under him and peeking an eye open. A creamy thigh curled up and over his hip to pull him in close, and despite himself, Tony simply closed his eyes again, trying to push the thoughts out of his head. “Just… laying here with you is fine,” he insisted.

He wanted Stephen - gods he wanted Stephen! - but not the way the man seemed to think. The leg over his hip was having the opposite of its intended effect as Stephen brushed at his hair a bit further, giving a soft noise of question.

“Just cuddles? Really? _ You _ ?” Stephen teased softly.

"I know, who would have thought?" Tony chuckled a little although something felt a bit odd. 

He tried to close his eyes and concentrate on the moment, resting his head against Stephen until he felt the other's hands lightly grab him and start to guide them over his hips. Tony pulled back at that moment and gave Stephen an odd look, his chest tightened a moment, though he didn't move his hand away as he looked down at the man, just kept it still.

"Stephen, you don't have to-" Tony started, he meant what he said about simply wanting to enjoy the other man's company by just resting with him together, holding the man and having him close.

"I know I don't have to do anything, Tony," the doctor held that same sly smile and Tony looked confused before his expression became something akin to hurt. "You're normally not the one to turn  _ something like this _ down, are you feeling ok?" Stephen seemed puzzled by Tony's reaction to his advances.

Tony didn't know what to say, his mouth opened a moment, then closed as he tried to find the words. "I'm fine..."

“Did something happen…?” Stephen’s hold on him loosened, and Tony backed away, sitting on the edge of the bed and shaking his head. 

“Tony?” 

The other’s confusion sounded more obvious than before, and Tony sunk his face into his hands. “We can do something else if you’d rather? I mean, I had a little surprise under here I thought might cheer you up… something nice and lacey?”

He thought he’d been pretty clear. He just wanted merely spend time with Stephen and nothing more. He wanted to be close to the man he loved - and gods that word hurt him. 

He loved Stephen… and Stephen was only here because he paid him. A part of him wondered if he had somehow allowed himself to be used again. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling.

He didn’t respond to Stephen as he climbed to his feet and made his way to the living room, leaving Stephen on the bed and staring after him in uncertainty. Tony poured himself a drink, sitting on the couch as he tried to collect his thoughts about the situation, finding himself growing steadily more unhappy with it all. It took a couple of minutes for Stephen to slink in, his robe wrapped around him properly again as he gently reached out as though he planned to touch Tony.

“Don’t.” Tony stated clearly before Stephen made contact, and the man’s hand withdrew quickly, tucking into his pockets.

“I’m sorry… whatever I did-”

“Stephen, just don’t.” His drink was gone in a flash and he poured another, barely noticing the man shifting from foot-to-foot out of the corner of his eye. “Just… go.”

He couldn't look at Stephen, not now, not at this moment. His heart was racing with a heavy chill and he took in a deep breath, another shot disappeared as soon as the amber liquid hit the glass but liquid courage wouldn't help him tonight.

He set the glass down on the coffee table, leaning forward as his hands went to cover his eyes and face and he dragged them down, heaving in a shaky breath.

The doctor was frozen in his spot, he no longer tried to reach out for Tony as he stood there. He felt the man's eyes on him up until he heard the soft padding of feet on the hardwood floor and Stephen was gone.

Once the other man had left he began to shake, the room, which had previously felt stifling, cleared and he curled up on the couch into a fetal position, terrified of moving from his spot.

Everything had been for nothing. All this work, all this time and he had hoped he would have had some sort of breakthrough, that somewhere deep down Stephen would have had a change of song about him. But this transaction started as a business one, and thus stayed that way through. He knew Stephen saw him as a friend to a degree but  _ how close  _ really made a difference.

Because Tony wanted more, so much more, and simple sex wasn't going to do it, he couldn't anymore as much as the other man turned him on, as much as the physical intimacy did serve to fill a void it simultaneously opened up another.

Tony simply couldn't handle that dramatic imbalance.

The following day he felt more empty and lost than ever. His head ached, and he didn’t hear from Stephen at all. His apartment felt lonely, the wing felt lonely, the whole compound felt lonely, and Tony drove that feeling away as much as possible by burying himself in work.

Days passed - three, four, five - and he didn’t hear from Stephen, never mind see him. He didn’t hear the man moving in the hallway, didn’t spot him in the gym, didn’t catch him doing his yoga routines, or spy him swimming as he often took time to do. It was as though the other man didn’t exist. A ghost. A figment of his imagination.

He felt alone again, and he hated it.

It was a week of this before Tony finally bit the bullet, staring at the door across the hallway with a tightness building in his chest and throat. “Friday…?”   
  
“Yes, boss?”

“Is Stephen in?”

“Doctor Strange doesn’t appear to be on the premises at this time, no.”

Tony frowned at that. A part of him wanted to wait, while another part feared that if he did, he'd be right back in the place he was before. “Can you call him up for me?”

“I don’t have a number with which to reach the Doctor, boss,” Friday responded, and Tony’s frown deepened.

“What do you mean? I gave him a phone, you should be able to reach him that way.”

“I’m afraid the Doctor has left that phone in the quarters across from yours.”

The tightness in his chest before became worse as Tony hesitated. Friday knew the quarters were supposed to be Stephen’s, why wouldn’t she refer to them as such? Where had Stephen gone that he’d left his phone?

“Friday…” he hesitated, swallowing around a lump in his throat. “How long has Stephen been gone…?” 

He was dreading the answer, but he had a sinking feeling he knew.

“He’s been gone for six days and seventeen hours, boss.”

Tony let himself into the apartment. It was left unsettlingly clean in the wake of Stephen's absence. The bed was made, towels folded, the place hardly looked as though it had been lived in at all - as if it was set up for viewing.

The more Tony ventured into the apartment, the more the creeping dread seemed to build within his chest; small things he'd bought for Stephen, items Stephen had purchased - it almost seemed like anything he'd at some point used money Tony had given him on was left in the place - neatly set up as though to display where things  _ could _ go - to leave no strings attached.

The door to Stephen's bedroom was open, clothes still hung in the closet in a meticulous colour-coded fashion, and the part that struck Tony the most was there on the bedside table. 

His heart felt like it nearly dropped out of his chest as he saw the watch, phone and blindfold sitting there - the only items in the apartment that seemed out of place and untended to before Stephen had left.

_ He'd done it again. _

Stephen was gone because of him - because he had to go and make everything complicated, because they had something of nothing and Tony had to go and ruin that just as he ruined it the first time. Just as he'd ruined everything with his life - even the Avengers.

He was cursed to follow in the same steps again, to relive the same moments over and over through different scenarios and instances, and now he was doomed to go on without the man he loved in his life.

All because he couldn't muster up the courage to say a damn word about it.

He knelt down on the floor, having tried to reach out to the nightstand but simply couldn't, he slammed a fist into the ground and somehow felt absolutely no pain whatsoever as his knuckles hit the hardwood floor.

He was so completely and totally numb to it all, he needed to get out of here, get everything off his mind, needed to forget it all.

_ He needed a drink. _

Tony stumbled out of the room, everything around him feeling almost like there was disorienting vertigo, a hand on the wall as he stumbled back into his own apartment and went right for his decanter, not even bothering to pour a glass but instead drinking straight from the crystal decanter.

* * *

“Tony…?”

The voice felt distant.

“Geezus, how much did he drink?”

“I don’t know, but knowing Tony… I can make some educated guesses.”

Two voices. Neither of them was the deep baritone he wanted to hear. It took a while for his eyes to blearily open, but even then he couldn’t focus well enough on the figures in the room to make out many details. He was reasonably certain that one was Pepper, and the man behind her… Happy? He wasn’t sure though. He wasn’t sure it mattered.

They weren’t who he wanted to see.

They didn’t seem to get the message, though, and a shock of cold water had him scrambling to sit up properly to escape it with a yelp. 

He was in a bathtub. 

He didn’t remember getting there, but he was there, somehow. He could hear Friday’s voice in the other room as Happy stared down at him from beside the tub. Pepper was gone. Was Pepper who Friday was talking to?

“When he ends up like this we need you to alert us, Friday,” Pepper’s voice said from the other room, and Friday gave some sort of affirmative even as Happy helped him sit up.

“Cold,” Tony whined softly to Happy, but whatever the man had to say was beyond him.

The next time he woke up he spent almost half an hour heaving his guts up, and another four hours making sure that he was done throwing up. Pepper stayed with him through it and for a brief, blissful period he almost managed not to think about Stephen at all.

Except Stephen was a doctor. 

He would’ve known what was best to help him get out of this state, how to make his stomach feel better. He made that well known to Pepper as he huddled against her chest in the aftermath of being sick, allowing her to feed him water.

There were a couple of days Tony didn't want to leave his room, Pepper taking the initiative to invite herself in and make sure that Tony was fed and taken care of. He wouldn't speak about what happened until about the third day when they sat him down in the lobby of the compound to speak with him, a welcomed change than the stifling interior of his own apartment.

Pepper was the one that finally coaxed Tony out of his shell, sitting there on a lunch date with no-one around eating in the lobby on a set of couches in front of one of the open sitting areas.

"So, are you finally going to tell me what's gotten you so torn up that you drank yourself to a near coma?" Pepper folded her arms over her lap, leaning in towards Tony as the man sat across from her on the other leather lounge chair.

"It's an absolute mess, I'm a mess..." Tony mumbled, cupping his coffee.

"That's not exactly news, Tony. Happy, Rhodey and I have been picking up after you for as long as any of us have known you. As big as the messes you make are we'll always be there to help you clean it up.”

"I don't know if this is something you can help me with," Tony mumbled, he felt numb, melancholy. He normally had a good handle on his own feelings yet at this point, it didn’t matter whether he spoke or bottled it up.

"Try me. This isn't the first time you've said that, and I know it won't be the last."

"I hired a man for sex," he came out with it.

"Well, that's nothing new, and it hardly surprises me," Pepper's voice was soft, not condescending but coming from a place of trying to understand.

"Stephen, my old friend... I had a crush on him." Pepper tilted her head a bit, but remained quiet and attentive. "I hired him... thought we'd get close again if I gave him financial help, I took care of him Pep. It was fun… until things got complicated, and then it wasn't fun, anymore." 

Pepper's expression turned more sympathetic.

"And let me guess, when it got complicated you didn't say anything, and from what I remember of him - neither did he.”

Tony looked up at her with an expression that spoke volumes. 

Nevertheless, he nodded.

“And where is he now?” she inquired quietly, sipping a cup of coffee and watching him thoughtfully.

“I don’t know,” Tony admitted, his voice cracking a little. “I just… I got upset with him. I asked him to go, but… I didn’t mean for him to  _ leave! _ I just meant I wanted him to give me some space. I wanted company. I just… wanted to hold someone. He mistook what I meant… or maybe it was all he was willing to give… I don’t know. I… was so upset I didn’t even know he was gone until a week later.

“But he left everything, Pep. He didn’t even… take the money I’d been paying him, or any of the things I gave him… he left his furniture, even his clothing. I don’t know if he even… there’s… a part of me that just hopes he didn’t actually leave with nothing but the clothes he was wearing that night because he was barely wearing anything at all. He’d fucking freeze out there… and I don’t know where he is. I don’t know if he had somewhere safe to go… if he’s back at the brothel or… maybe he’s on the streets for all I fucking know…” Tony trailed off and hung his head.

“I can’t stand the thought that he might have decided that living on the streets was better than being safe here… but I hate the idea that he might’ve gone back to the brothel, too. He was so fucking defeated when I took him from there, Pep. It was like an animal that had been left at a shelter, broken and beaten and tired… it felt like when I held him he had hope again… and I hated thinking that something like this was what had become of my friend.”

"Well, he's gone now Tony, and there are two things here you can do about it," Pepper started, folding her hands. "Stephen means the world to you, and he's been gone for a week, prior to the ones you spent in a drunken spell." Tony looked off to the side.

"Tony, you've never been an idle man, and I'm honestly surprised you haven't already started to look for him."

"He left Pep, he's gone, he doesn't want to be here anymore-"

"Somehow I doubt that's quite it Tony," she let out a soft breathy laugh. "Sometimes we tend to push away the people who are closest to us - who we need the most when we are going through difficult times in our life. It's easier to react, then act.

"Tony, look at me," the engineer complied and looked back at the red-head. "You can't just make assumptions until you've found out, you are sitting on an empire of technology, an endless resource at your disposal and I know if you wanted to find him, you could do it in a heart-beat."

"What if-"

"No, Tony, no what-ifs," she started, "use your words and talk to him, when you find him, tell him. You can't just assume the end of the world is here when you haven't even spoken to him." Pepper's voice was calming, but resolute.

"And what if I find him, he doesn't even want to talk?"

"For all the time I've known you, the world never revolved around one person, you and it are both bigger than that. Just because the clock is broken, doesn't mean time stands still."

He didn’t know if it would work out, but he did know that if Stephen was out there somewhere, suffering… if there was even a chance he could fix this and be open with the man about how he felt… it had to be worth it. He wanted - he  _ needed _ Stephen back in his life. The only way to apologize was to find him.

It took time. It took resources - luckily only the kind he already had available. It might’ve even taken a tiny bit of hacking… but he found him. Three weeks later.  _ In Nepal. _

He didn’t go to Nepal, there were some lines he wouldn’t cross, and there was the small part of him that hoped the man had gone there for medical reasons. Maybe he’d found something? It still took another week to locate him in the area, however. He needed to be sure. He needed to know the man was still alive. That he was safe.

Safe he appeared to be. He even looked to be doing well. Without him. Maybe it was hope? Hope was certainly a good look on him. He wasn’t home, though.

Months passed, and Tony checked in less and less often, hoping that whatever he was doing was going well for him. Tony did his best to build himself back up. 

He was mentoring Peter, working hard on several projects, and to his surprise when he checked in almost a year later, he couldn’t find Stephen.

Panic fluttered in his chest, but while there was nowhere in Nepal he could find the man, there were also no indications that he had returned to the United States, so when he happened across the man at a deli in Greenwich Village the surprise, delight, and desperation that swelled in him in equal measure was nearly overwhelming. 

He looked good. Put together, though his clothes seemed not to fit him particularly well - they were loose, a little baggy in places… and rather peculiar, altogether. Not what he remembered of the well-dressed doctor.

The cashier handed Tony his order, the place was busy and it was hard to sift through the crowd of people though when he approached the man who'd just walked in it was hard to say if he really knew what was coming.

Tony walked up to Stephen, sandwich in hand. People seemed to point out who he was, there were whispers but Stephen seemed preoccupied with trying to peck out a text on his phone, completely absorbed in what he was trying to do.

"I never took you as the type for cults, Stephen." The man looked up almost surprised, Tony standing beside him with a smile that belied all of his nervousness in one single bundle. 

He didn't know what compelled him, but humour seemed to be the highest priority option on his list.

"Tony?" Stephen appeared surprised, confused, almost fearful for a moment but then that look turned into something more fond and calm.

"In the flesh! It's been a hot moment. Did you want to catch up?" 

He flashed Stephen a nervous smile. Despite his sense of humour, he was trembling in his boots but this was his chance to make things right. He’d waited a year for this and he wouldn't screw it up again nor allow himself to lose the opportunity once again.

Stephen seemed to look at him with completely different air about him, distinguished, established, confident, and it was something that made Tony a little nervous in the other man's almost sage-like presence.

At this point, Tony's life had evened out, and checking up on Stephen had become a thing of the past, making sure he was safe until it simply wasn't necessary anymore. Sure, he'd fretted when the man had completely disappeared off the radar - but for some reason, he only briefly considered the possibility that anything bad had happened. Regardless, it brought a sense of peace to him to see the love of his life again well and  _ prospering. _

“Won’t being seen with a cultist ruin your reputation…?” the man inquired as he stepped into the lineup, clearly intent on getting something to eat regardless, but not dismissing him. “I wouldn’t want to cause any such issues.”

“If I haven’t somehow ruined my reputation by doing any number of other insane things, then I somehow doubt joining a cult will do it. I mean, joining a boyband in 2012 didn’t and that’s pretty culty, right?”

“Let me get a sandwich and I’ll meet you outside? It’s a little… crowded in here,” Stephen chuckled softly, and the sound was oddly warming. 

The things this man did to his heart…

“Yeah, alright. I’ll catch you out front.”

“Great.”

It was about ten minutes later that the taller man made his way outside again. The two fell into stride as they made their way down the street, walking quietly, though Tony had no idea precisely where they were going. Stephen seemed to be leading the way and he was simply happy to follow along.

“You… look good,” Tony started with a small smile.

“You look greyer than I remember,” Stephen retorted with a sly smile of his own.

"Seasoned, Stephen. The word is  _ seasoned _ \- and thank you, I'll have you know I wear it well," Tony folded his hands behind his back while keeping in the doctor's stride, and Stephen rolled his eyes at the billionaire's antics.

"Right, that's the word," Stephen quirked a brow, winking at Tony. Tony seemed to eye the man up as if not getting enough of a view the first time and the doctor easily caught his glances.

"You know, you should take a picture, it will last longer."

"With that kind of prompting I just might." 

Tony went to give the man a friendly nudge on the back, and he wasn't sure if he'd imagined it but the cloak seemed to spring back as if it was repelling his touch.

_ That was weird. _

Tony squeezed the paper take-out bag he was holding tensely, there was a quiet between them that was hard to break given their very public situation, but it wasn't long until Stephen stopped them in front of an old building in Greenwich and the doors of the building opened to him without any prompting. Tony followed the doctor in and was led over to a small sitting area.

"You know, this doesn't really help the whole cultist thing… or are you running some sort of weird private museum? I never took you as the curator type." 

Stephen laughed, briskly, and it echoed through the entry of the building. Tony melted immediately from the man's expression of mirth, lord help him.

He set the sandwich down on the table beside him, and the two looked at each other as if they were both trying to decide who would go first. Despite the size of the building’s atrium, apparently it wasn't large enough for the massive elephant in the room they were both trying to ignore.

“Stephen,” Tony bit the bullet, “I’m sorry-”

“-I thought we might save that bit until after we’d eaten. Getting emotional on an empty stomach is likely to make either of us - or both of us - feel sick,” Stephen interjected, gesturing to a seating area. “Please, sit. Eat. We’ve waited this long to talk, we can wait a little bit longer,” he added.

“Ah good idea, if I hurl from being so nervous, I’ll actually let something loose instead of just dry heaving.” Tony’s teeth caught his lip before he finally gave a small nod and moved to take a seat in front of the small fireplace. “This is a nice place you’ve got,” he tried instead, and Stephen perched across from him and gave a nod and a smile.

“I inherited it through rather unfortunate means, but I’m slowly getting used to it.”

“Inherited? So this is  _ your _ place, then?” Tony gave him a somewhat surprised look. “You really have gotten yourself back on your feet.”

“Mine… in a manner of speaking. Mine to protect, but also mine to live in, in the meantime.”

"Did some long lost family member pass away?"

"Family in a sense, not related though. But that's the gist of it," Stephen let out a breath and unbagged his meal taking a bite.

Tony was anxious to talk, but surprisingly the silence between them wasn't suffocating. It was oddly calm as they both sat in front of the hearth, the fire on and keeping them warm in the oddly breezy house.

He was only able to eat half of his sandwich, taking a glug of his water before setting it down and folding his hands in his lap. His stomach was in knots and, despite the warning, he still had trouble eating his fill, he still felt the stomach ache coming on as he sat there in building anticipation.

Stephen had a surprisingly calm air about him, it was hard to read, and although the man's expression remained neutral it was oddly placid at the same time. Tony felt comforted, welcomed in a sense before the doctor's shakey hands finally set his portion down that he couldn't finish and shakily wiped them off.

His hands, he missed  _ those hands _ .

He turned a smile to Tony, folding his hands in his lap.

"I'm sorry." Tony came out with it and Stephen's stare seemed unwavering as he eyed him down. At that moment Tony felt like he was staring down the barrel of a gun, sitting in the eyes of a predator with how small he felt in Stephen's presence.

Stephen didn't speak or interrupt him, staying quiet as he let him say his part.

"I lost you three times already Stephen, and I know I might lose you again, and if I know that's going to happen I at least wanted to get this off my chest before it happens." The sorcerer tilted his head, but the silence told Tony to go on.

"I really fucked things up, it started with a crush. I'd always had this thing for you since we were friends, we lost touch when I went to Afghanistan and then when I saw you in the brothel by chance I couldn't help myself..." he paused, looking down. He couldn't hold Stephen's gaze anymore. 

"I thought you wouldn't recognize me, but you were way too smart for that. I started to develop some serious feelings for you, which is why I stopped visiting you… and then you came to me for help, and I couldn't refuse..." Tony looked up utterly defeated, his mouth hanging open and head shaking as he tried to formulate the words.

"It was never about the sex, even though it was nice - I just wanted to get close to you, to earn my way into your life but, I didn't know any other way to do it. And then it got worse, I loved you, well, still do but-" Tony clenched his teeth, balling his fist and shaking his head trying to figure out how to climb out of the hole he'd dug himself into.

"Those feelings never left and I fucked everything up, I figured it just made things more complicated, I was hoping something would form, something would develop - it never did and I just reacted rather than adjust."

Stephen tilted his head slightly at that before giving him a soft sigh. “Of course nothing formed, Tony. How could something that was already there form?”

Tony gave him a confused look at that, not wholly understanding. The idea that Stephen was in love with him seemed too farfetched to be a reality, but the small smile on the other man’s face was there nevertheless, even as he seemed to curl in on himself some. 

“I used to think when we were younger, that maybe I was obvious about being utterly in love with you, but it felt like you never noticed. And then suddenly, after Afghanistan… it felt like I wasn’t important enough to be kept in your life anymore. It took me a long time to work past that - though there was always a part of me that thought if I worked harder, if I became more important, maybe we could talk again. Maybe I’d be worth your time.”

The oddly-dressed man leaned back on the couch, crossing his legs as he heaved a sigh. “Then you happened to find me at my lowest… and it took a little time. But you left enough hints, and if you thought I wouldn’t figure out what the watch looked like and put two and two together, I don’t know what to tell you… I was confused and conflicted, but I thought… fuck it, if it was the only way you wanted me, then I’d give you as much of me as I could give. As much of me as you would have.”

He paused at that and shook his head a little, running a hand into his hair and ruffling it slightly in the process, leaving a couple of strands of hair to fall forward, brushing at his forehead as they often tended to. “And then you left again, and I didn’t know what I’d done wrong. I was alone again. I’d had that odd feeling of hope, and then… just gone. I was a whore. Disposable. I felt that in a way I never had before… that’s why I didn’t expect that you would come back, despite my message.”

Tony ran his hands over his face, covering it while he shook it. His head towards the floor, ashamed, shaking his head.

"God I'm a fucking idiot," he muffled into his hands before his palms dragged down his face.

"I - god Stephen, I'm sorry I left… I just couldn't handle it. I never knew if something was going on, money was always the one barrier between us and even when I was trying, I just wasn't at the same time," the engineer felt absolutely defeated.

It was nice to hear that the feelings were mutual, it meant the world, but far be it for him to hold out hope given everything he did.

"The last night before… before you left, I wanted to just hold you. Invite you to share my bed, just to sleep together in each other's arms. When you showed up I thought you were only there giving me what I was paying you for. I wanted something normal, god, the sex was great but I wanted a real relationship with you, Stephen," he shook his head.

"And if only I'd said that before you left, or even before I left..."

“I know,” Stephen responded quietly. “I realized it. A little too late, perhaps, but I realized it. I’d become so stuck in the mindset that I was a whore that I stopped remembering that we were friends once. I spent so long convinced all you wanted from me was sex that I didn’t stop to consider that maybe I was wrong. I was afraid to hope again and be let down.

“I spent a long while after that feeling again as though perhaps I didn’t deserve friends if I kept treating them so poorly, never mind anything more than that. To be honest, I figured you would have quit and entirely moved on by this point. How we keep bumping into each other in a city as big as New York - especially when your compound isn’t in the city - is quite a bit of happenstance.”

"I was never one to believe in fate, or miracles, especially not the supernatural - and that's no jab at you," Tony nodded to Stephen's get-up. "There are no divine powers out there, no nothing that could make me believe in anything, but what I can believe in is my gut and in my feelings. And they’re telling me that if I don't act now, I won't get this chance again..." Tony reached into his blazer for something, but stopped and folded his hands in his lap deeming it not terribly appropriate to dig around at that point.

It was almost an odd sense the other didn't speak up, and Tony's gaze kept nervously flicking over to Stephen, his face, his hands.

"Stephen... would-"

"Yes."

"You don't even know what I'm going to say..."

"I don't need to," the sorcerer smiled, almost a bit smugly at him.

"Yes - well, what if I was going to ask for something else?”

"And ruin the moment? I wouldn't put it past you, but given our discussion..." Stephen nodded his head.

Stephen stood up, and it was like Tony didn't need to say anything at all. The ex-surgeon walked over to him and stopped in front, reaching down to grab Tony's hands and pull them up, and he held his breath for a moment.

"I want to give us another chance. I'll give you one if you'll give me one," the sorcerer's expression softened and Tony was thrown so far off by the man's forwardness.

"You'd do that?"

"Of course," he whispered. Tony felt like a schoolgirl, how far things had shifted in Stephen's absence, what a year apart could do to a man.

“Seriously, is this magic? Are you using magic on me? Culty magic?” Tony joked to try and get some kind of footing in the situation.

Stephen raised an eyebrow at that for a moment, before giving him a low hum. “Maybe. But let’s show you  _ real _ magic, shall we?”

He didn’t know what happened. Why it happened.  _ How _ it happened.

Stephen’s cape wrapped itself around Tony and tugged him in to press against the taller man, and one of Stephen’s hands brushed gently along his jaw as the doctor leaned in, watching him carefully.

“May I kiss you?”

Tony was losing control of the situation, the cape, the hands, those eyes - Stephen in general. He fell back against the red fabric swaddling him to his not-so-long-lost-lover, hands braced on Stephen's shoulders.

He had a larger fly-catching gape than before and only nodded, responding when he realized he was lost for words and completely enthralled by the man nearly wrapped around him.

"Do you even need to ask?"

"Perhaps not, but after all this time it seemed worthwhile to do so,” Stephen responded, his voice growing steadily quieter as he leaned in and Tony met him halfway, crushing his lips up against Stephen’s. Frankly, his arms were mostly pinned to his chest from the cloak's sudden grabbing him while Stephen had his arms around him. 

He melted into the kiss. He tried to lead, but it was too much, he ended up just following Stephen's movements as the two shared a very long-desired kiss.

It was lengthy and indulgent, but different - oh so different from kisses they’d shared before. 

Stephen was different. Confident. Assured. A little demanding without being pushy. His hand remained gently caressing Tony’s cheek before he pulled away, and Tony was slowly released from the hold of the cloak.

“... okay so… the cape-”

“-It’s a cloak.”

“-the cloak then, what was… when you said  _ magic _ ... uh… is there something I should know?” Tony licked at his lips nervously for a moment.

“I suppose I owe you that much if we’re discussing the possibility of a relationship here…”

“Oh this isn’t a ‘possibility,’ Stephen. I’m keeping you now, you got it? You’re mine. I want you, and this… and the crazy cult that goes with it, I guess. I’ll deal with that.”

“It’s not a crazy cult, though I’ll admit I had a similar reaction. I do mean…  _ real _ magic.” 

Stephen flicked his hand to the side and summoned a small blue butterfly to his hand, letting it rest there for a moment before the shimmering thing flitted from his palm to settle on Tony’s shoulder. Tony watched the butterfly with some confusion, looking to it, and then Stephen, and then back again to it.

"Stephen, you didn't lace my sandwich with anything, did you? I knew I felt a little queasy..." Stephen rolled his eyes.

"As if you weren't nervous already."

"I'm joking, hey!" Tony held up his hands defensively going to take a step back before the cloak flicked around and stopped just that from happening.

He looked over his shoulder to the cloak. "Oh, I see you two are in this together. Well, hopefully, there's enough me to go around then." 

"I doubt it," Stephen chuckled and Tony put his hands back on Stephen's hips again, this time they slid entirely around the man and he wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug. 

"I missed you. Thank you for giving me another shot," he pressed his cheek to Stephen's shoulder and leaned into the hug. The sorcerer's arms came around his shoulders and cradled his head, pressing a gentle kiss into the top of his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:
> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


	5. Chapter 5

Explaining to Pepper that he had a magic boyfriend was probably the most amusing moment of his life so far. The ‘magic’ thing she refused to take at face value until Stephen literally opened a portal into the office and realized he was interrupting something.

Pepper took a seat after that, questioning the very fabric of reality. 

Tony sympathized.

Despite their flagrant and altogether sappy use of the label of ‘boyfriend’ however, they had taken things excessively slow in the sex department. They’d had a couple of hangups with Stephen admitting he’d had a partner in the year he’d been gone and some slight unsettling feelings of jealousy that Tony needed to deal with. 

He realized that it was a matter of conditioning to a point - Stephen had been selling his body for money for almost a year by the time Tony had pulled him from that - but it was clear the other man had been somewhat starved for affection as well. He didn’t know who to trust. He wanted to be wanted.

Tony could hardly blame him when he felt much the same. For all the healing Stephen had done, they both had a ways to go, still, and that was a process they were going through together.

Rather than delving into the sexual aspect of their relationship, however, they’d begun to build new routines around one another. Saturday nights the pair had a habit of nestling in together to watch various TV shows and movies - things to get Stephen caught up with what he’d missed while he was studying at _ wizard school. _ It often involved the theft of fluffy socks and piling a stupid amount of blankets over themselves while trying not to fall off the couch.

Twice a month they’d make time to go out for dinner, where they’d agreed that they would always sit on the same side of the table. Stephen seemed to prefer a booth on those occasions and the idea of going to some unheard of diner in the middle of nowhere for their dates had become steadily more appealing over time. Tony always took the time to cut Stephen’s food for him where required, much to the sorcerer’s amusement and endearment.

While they still attended Tony’s galas and social functions together - with a much more confident and social Stephen on his arm - it was the little things, he realized, that he’d really been missing. He could see it in his boyfriend when they made the rounds of the rooms, the confidence in his gait, the ease with which he greeted others, not like the façade that he’d fallen for before.

Where once Stephen would only dance if Tony insisted, now Stephen had no hesitations towards sweeping Tony off to the dance floor without asking, humming merrily along to the songs as they danced and leading Tony with so much grace the engineer couldn’t even think to protest. It was different. It was  _ better _ . It was everything he’d thought it might be when they were younger, and everything he’d hoped it would be a year ago.

They’d been together almost six months now, officially, and it was after one such function that the man didn’t simply tuck Tony in and head home. He made a rather grand display, in fact, of flopping across Tony’s bed when they arrived there, toeing off his shoes and reaching to loosen his tie some. His hair was ruffled from the wind of the rooftop terrace they’d been on, his cheeks a little red with wine, and his eyes sparkling with pleasure and mirth as he eyed Tony carefully.

With all the desserts and things they'd had to eat that night, none seemed sweeter than the moment he was able to share with Stephen as they nestled up in bed together. 

Between Stephen's responsibilities with the Sanctum and his own time needing to be at the compound, it sometimes felt difficult for the two men to sync up outside of their regularly allotted time-frames. So the time they spent together was golden and Tony wouldn't trade all the money, wealth, and sex for it ever.

What he had at that moment was something that had been missing for a good majority of his life outside of the times when Stephen was together with him. The man wrapped around him against his chest, sunken into the pillows and sheets of Tony's bed as he softly brushed hair out of Stephen's face with his knuckles.

The moment was a treasure, still clothed and resting forehead-to-forehead as hazel eyes reflected blue, Stephen's cloak having cleverly disguised itself as some piece of casual attire already shaken itself from its appearance and draped over the two. 

Tony was undoing the tie around Stephen's neck gingerly, smoothing his hands over his shoulders and peeling off the man's blazer like he was unwrapping a present.

One by one he unbuttoned Stephen's dress shirt, one of Stephen's hands resting around his wrist as he did so, not to stop him but simply keep the link between them as Tony's tan hands parted Stephen's shirt and smoothed them over his chest, exposing the thin line of hair on his pecks and navel.

Tony's patience couldn't hold out before he'd pushed one side of Stephen's button-up aside and went for the man's neck, huffing soft, inebriated puffs of air as he went to rest his hand on Stephen's waist.

Tony would definitely have to get his suit-pressed after this as he did his best impression of a vampire, suckling and biting at Stephen's neck hungrily. 

It wasn't enough as the sorcerer pulled away after a soft chorus of mewls in response, demanding that their lips meet one another as he tugged Tony's face away from his neck and up to his own. Tony’s confusion was noticeable before realization dawned, and they gazed at one another for another prolonged second before the engineer dove back in to seize his lips, rolling him on his back as he crawled on top of him.

Heavy breaths clashed with tongues, Tony's hand sliding up along Stephen's side as he closed his eyes once more and indulged in the kiss. He planted his lips flat against Stephen's mouth only to pull apart and reposition as he tried to wrestle Stephen for dominance within the kiss. Tongues twisted and danced, lips parted only to reinstitute themselves at a different angle and it was a good few minutes of heavy making out before Tony was the one to pull away, a hand on Stephen's cheek as his thumb grazed over his cheek.

"I'm so glad to have you in my life, so lucky..." he mumbled lowly, letting out a deep contented sigh.

The smile Stephen responded with was sloppy, but utterly loving as he nudged the tip of his nose against Tony’s.

“You’re the light of my life,” Stephen responded, his words cut off as he yawned some and closed his eyes. His arms fastened around Tony in a loop and the businessman rested himself over the other man entirely, nudging his face into Stephen’s neck and closing his own eyes.

“You took the words right out of my mouth,” Tony chuckled.

“Meat Loaf, Bat Out of Hell, 1977…” the sorcerer recited lowly, and Tony nipped his neck gently.

“... it must’a been while you were kissing me,” he added on to humour his boyfriend. “I don’t suppose you’re planning to stay with me tonight?” he inquired softly, tracing over the scar on his chest. For a long period, there was silence and Tony suspected the other was mulling over how to politely inform him he had to leave, though when he finally sat up to look at the man a smile cut across his features quickly enough.

Stephen was asleep. Mostly dressed, his mussed and dishevelled form relaxed, and Tony’s fingers delicately finished untying the other’s tie, setting it on the side table before getting them both tucked in properly.

“You let him know, he chose to stay here,” Tony instructed the cloak, whose collar ruffled a little and waved at him in acknowledgement. Giving a short nod and a soft pat to the living fabric, Tony moved to lay beside the sorcerer, scooting out of his suit and discard it before cuddling in against the man.

“Goodnight, my love,” he whispered to the other as he settled in, closing his eyes and trying futilely to stop himself from smiling. His face hurt, but the smile stuck.

* * *

Crystalline eyes watched him as he woke. He rubbed at his face a little before moving the hand to curl back around the man in his bed with a warm smile.

“Hey there, handsome.”

“Hey yourself, gorgeous,” Stephen responded quietly, not wanting to break the quiet of the morning. The sun shone gently on the sorcerer’s face, and Tony’s eyes trailed over him in utmost admiration.

“We having a quiet morning?”

“We could. The cloak went to make breakfast, so we can even do breakfast in bed.”

“I already have you. You’re a full twelve-course meal, and you’re in my bed…”

“Tsk. Is the big bad wolf going to eat me up?”

"Well, I can't say you aren't enough of a meal to keep me sated for the whole day," Tony tapped the sorcerer on the nose with a playful smirk.

"Really, Tony? Just a day? I thought I had a lot more to bring to the table than that," Stephen rasped in his morning voice, craning to kiss his chin as the other let out a soft chuckle.

"Well, see, you  _ do _ but I'll get hungry again and expect more later. Again, and again, and again! So I'm sorry if you've got a lot of hungry mouths to feed - or just, one really hungry mouth to feed… So, in the end, does it really make much of a difference?" Tony cooed playfully like a morning dove.

"As long as you're willing to have me as a sole provider," Stephen jested lightly and the two simply took the time to watch one another, touch one another until actions slowly, naturally bled into slightly more intimate ones.

"I think there's time for a one-off," Stephen suggested.

"You know, I think there just might be," Tony responded, that very same expression turning to a pure and utter fondness for the other man.

Stephen grabbed Tony's left wrist and raised it above his head and the engineer looked puzzled at the moment as Stephen started to explore his body with another hand.

"You know the other one is free so I don't know what that's supposed to accomplish if you're trying to keep me still," Tony joked softly.

"Nothing," Stephen simply put, grabbing Tony's hands in a gentle, affectionate gesture and kissing his knuckles, much like Tony often did to him. "Afterall, it's simply just for show, an expression of power," Stephen grinned playfully and Tony couldn’t help but shiver.

"Maybe it's time someone else starts calling the shots, hmmm?" Stephen rolled his stomach into Tony and he could tell the engineer was hard but reluctant to show it.

"Stephen-" Tony started.

"Mmm?" the sorcerer hummed.

"I'm supposed to be the one on top here!" he babbled sheepishly.

“‘Supposed to’ is it?” Stephen inquired as he leaned to nip at Tony’s neck. “Did we have a rule about that? I don’t remember signing any papers or making any blood oaths that said you were to always be the primary shareholder of power in this relationship…”

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Tony huffed a bit, trying to sort out his situation and how he felt about it. “I swear, who even are you? It’s like I don’t know you at all! A taste of magic and you’re someone else entirely!”

“You could get to know me,” Stephen smirked a little, “more intimately, even. Unless you’re particularly opposed to all of this…? I can think of a few ways to give you a… ‘taste’ of magic, as you put it so eloquently.”

There was a tightening in his gut as Stephen rocked his body against him again, and Tony gave a soft whine at that. “You drive a  _ hard _ bargain, Strange.”

“You don’t know the half of it, Mister Stark. And look at you, already mostly undressed for me…”

“Well, someone fell asleep in his suit last night, and I didn’t want to be all untoward and getting you naked while you were passed out drunk,” Tony grumbled softly, feeling something coiling around his wrists to hold him - something that was distinctly not Stephen’s hands, which were running over the expanse of his chest and down his stomach in gentle, explorative touches.

“Stephen, what’s…?”

“Is this okay?” Stephen inquired again, pulling back just enough to let Tony examine the red bands around his wrists. They weren’t tight. They were warm, firmly holding him in place, but felt oddly soothing rather than restrictive.

“... yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“You’re literally tying me up with magic fabric, I mean, can I be sure about anything? Magic is still an entirely uncertain principle for me and--”

“Tony,” the sorcerer interrupted his rambling with an amused smile, “is tying you up okay? Is doing this… are we ready for this?”

"For you," he breathed, feeling the weight of the bands around him squeeze heatedly over his form, "anything. Yes, I'm fine with this Stephen, I trust you," he huffed with a testing look on his face.

The bindings continued to move and his heart rate sped up, not used to being on the receiving end of things. They wormed their way like vines over his body, weaving around his arms and wrists and lightly pulling them together as they branched out like tree-roots above his bed-frame to bind him to it.

"It seems to me like you may just be a little pent up," Tony licked his lips, tugging against the restraints for good sportsmanship. Stephen simply hovered over him as if this was some sort of epiphany. Tony on his back, exposed, vulnerable and at his beck and call, right in front of him.

The man was a palette and a canvas at the same time.

"More than just a little, Tony," Stephen winked and the engineer's gut sank into his chest as he peeled the man's boxers from his form and began to exact his revenge. Two fingers seemed to glow as Stephen held them up and the sorcerer held them up for show.

Tony swallowed the lump in his throat, bracing himself. It was second longer before Stephen pressed said digits into the cleft of his ass and the engineer's body totally seized up in his grasp.

Tony opened his mouth, a loud gasp escaping as those warm fingers slid right into him without force. They were steady - steady like Tony never believed they could be - and especially warm. He let out a heavy moan as the sorcerer explored the inside of him, arching his back with each scissor and jab to his prostate. He yanked against the bonds, shifting the headboard as he shut his eyes, and indulged in the unfamiliar sensations.

Stephen rained kisses down on him without any hesitation, his tongue flicking over one nipple, the fingers of his free hand catching the other gently before his kisses proceeded south. “I’ll take care of you,” the sorcerer promised.

His kisses settled on either of Tony’s hip bones, making the engineer squirm a little - as nice as the kisses were, his facial hair was tickling his skin and making him wriggle. Stephen seemed delighted by this based on the way he tickled Tony’s skin with his beard further for effect.

“That’s- that’s not taking care of me! Stephen!!” Tony laughed, writhing further in his spot before emitting a loud gasp as the doctor’s mouth wrapped around his cock without any warning. It was a hell of a distraction from the fingers that curled and stretched him gently, easing away any of the discomforts he associated with it.

Tony withheld bucking his hips up into the sorcerer's mouth. His legs had turned to liquid under the other man's touch and he was gasping for air in the most delightful way possible as Stephen pressed in further. Between the heat of his mouth and his magicked fingers, paired off with his pent-up energy, he was going to blow if Stephen kept this up.

"God, Stephen I will quite literally ruin the magic at this point," he whimpered, not used to being on the receiving end of things as he gave his restraints a reactive tug. Stephen had pushed in, fingertips tapping his prostate and he cried out with pleasure, cock pulsing with excitement into Stephen's open maw.

"Stephen-" he huffed, trying to look down at the man, a hazy, drugged-out feeling bubbling through his brain as his chest heaved in anticipation. He wondered just how far things would go and when they would with the other man.

Stephen hummed around him and the vibration shot through him in waves, nearly enough to pull him over the edge before the man withdrew, pulling a whine from the engineer. His fingers were removed shortly after, no longer glowing as his clean hand brushed Tony’s face.

“You sure you’re okay with this?”

“Stephen… I swear… if you don’t fuck me right this second…”

“What, still dressed?”

“You have magic, deal with it. But your second is almost up!”

Stephen’s shirt hung loosely open, still, but before Tony could protest further (and without any sign of having removed his pants) Stephen hooked the engineer’s legs around his hips and leaned over him with a little smile. A short mudra with his hands left Stephen’s hands open and the slick, hard head of his cock pressed against Tony’s entrance and with only a small nod of encouragement from Tony, he slid in slowly.

The sorcerer leaned over him, caging him in and Tony felt every inch of the doctor inside him in substitute for those fingers. It was a welcomed change, the pain, the pleasure, the feeling of absolute closeness and intimacy as the other man arched over him and wrapped his arms around Tony's waist, tilting his forehead in against his collarbone.

"A-ahh!" Tony threw his head to the side as he felt the tense muscles in his ass part around Stephen's cock, hugging tightly to the man. His muscles spasmed and trembled nervously from the short pain that shot through him from not being used to the actions.

"Sing for me?" Stephen purred softly with a soft chuckle, pressing a kiss just as soon into Tony's cheek.

"Ass," the engineer retaliated and gave the bindings yet another rough tug as if he'd forgotten they were there altogether. Had his arms been free he would have wrapped them around Stephen's shoulders but sadly, that wasn’t an option.

"Are you calling me names or did you just want me in deeper?" the sorcerer chuckled. 

"Both," Tony heaved, eyes clenching shut for a moment as he enjoyed the feeling of Stephen entirely and around him.

“And what are you going to do if I don’t move?” Stephen inquired softly, “what if I just want to stay like this and enjoy you for a little bit?”

“Stephen, for fuck’s sake, I was already so close-”

“I don’t want this ending too soon,” the doctor cut in, kissing along his jaw and neck gently. “I want to take my time with you… worship you… love you…”

Tony bit back a remark about the effect that deep, husky baritone had on him, and how little that was going to help in the grand scheme if Stephen didn’t want things ending ‘too soon’. Before he got the chance to say anything else, however, a sudden hard and well-aimed thrust left him to arch his back, crying out loudly in surprise.

“Or, I suppose I could just plow you into the pillows and take the rest of the day to do the rest,” Stephen chimed with a low chuckle and a soft moan of his own.

"I think... I like that idea much better," Tony breathed, fists clenching and unclenching as he felt Stephen, if possible, sink in even deeper. His legs were starting to get a little sore from the position, he wasn't used to being bent like this and  _ his body was protesting it. _

"Then tell me, Tony, how rough do you want this, hmm?" His hands massaged into the muscles of his hips as he clutched tightly to him and Tony bit his lip, eyes cracked as he looked up at the man who was exacting the equivalent of the best torture in the world to him.

"Just fuck me, Stephen!" Tony whined loudly.

"Well we've got that part, but hard enough for the compound to hear or hard enough for the entire state?" Stephen jested playfully.

"For the love of god Stephen!" Tony gave the bindings another tug.

"You said you weren't much a religious man," he smiled widely, pulling back and then pushing in again.

"A man can change once he sees the light."

"Not you, Tony," Stephen grinned and he started to thrust into the man at a steady pace. Tony's chest heaved in and out, back arching as he was pushed into a steady motion up against the headboard of the bed.

The bands around his arms did their job in holding him in place, but Stephen took no mercy on the rest of him. His hands held tightly to Tony’s thighs - surprisingly so, given the injuries to them - and the headboard took up a steady rhythm with Stephen’s movements, hitting the wall repeatedly with the force of Stephen’s thrusts.

The soft noises he could hear from Stephen on occasion were almost entirely drowned out by his own cries as his erection bobbed between them, leaking over his stomach before Stephen released one of his thighs to curl a hand around Tony’s dick. Tony shuddered in his grasp, rolling his hips in their spot before Stephen shook his head at that.

“Careful, I can’t brace you, fuck you, and jerk you off all at once…” Stephen started, and Tony gave him a hazy look, confused for a moment and wondering if he was really so out of it he was seeing double.

“... or can I?”

Hands were all over his body. Two on his thighs, one cupped around his balls with its companion on his dick, two bracing him just above his ass on his lower back, and a fourth pair rubbing over his stomach and sides. He felt them. They were there - real.

This was almost too overwhelming, it was like every part of his body Stephen had a hold of was on fire and he opened his mouth, eyes rolling back as he was taken over the edge with that addition. 

"Steph -" he tried to cry the man's name out and he couldn't even accomplish that as he came all over his own stomach and the doctor's torso. His cock twitched and pulsed as he tensed around the man inside still pumping into him, a whimper as his muscles came down, the thrill wearing into oversensitivity.

He had to whine softly as the doctor kept thrusting into him, thirty more seconds and he felt himself filled with hot cum, Stephen leaning down to wrap his arms around his chest as whatever clones, or illusions he had turned to sparkling dust around him and Stephen collapsed on his chest.

Tony weakly tugged on the bindings, desperately wanting to hug the man who he'd just gotten a surge of endorphins served from.

"Let me go, Stephen..." Tony pleaded softly and just like the clones had moments before the bindings faded and Tony wrapped his arms around the man, crushing him in a hug.

"God that was good, I love you..." he breathed, squeezing tighter if possible.

"Liked my little trick then, huh?" Stephen questioned softly, peppering kisses along Tony's cheek.

"A little too much, yeah," he breathed shakily.

“I’m not sure there’s such a thing as liking my tricks  _ too _ much,” Stephen smiled and it took Tony a good minute to realize he wasn’t the only one heaving. Stephen’s chest rose and fell pretty rapidly, his arms gently stroking Tony’s thighs as he pressed soft kisses to his calves. “I imagine your legs are sore… but just in case… do you want me to pull out or…?”

“Why did you… have to remind me that I hurt?” Tony grumbled softly, the reminder making the ache more readily apparent. He’d been happily lost in the bliss of obliviousness in his high, and Stephen gave him a soft chuckle and a sheepish look at that.

“Sorry, my love. I’ll make sure to pamper you all morning so that you can recover some. I’ll need to check in on the Sanctum later, though, so if you want more after that we’re going to have to portal back over.”

With that, the sorcerer withdrew slowly and lay himself down beside Tony, nestling in against him with a warm smile. Tony sighed, feeling the odd sensation of cum slowly leaking out of his ass even as he rolled onto his side to allow Stephen to cuddle him in close against his chest. 

“Was the change in position so bad…?” the sorcerer asked after a moment.

“I worry that if I answer that you’re going to get all smug on me.”

“I’m never smug,” Stephen chimed, “not without deserving it.”

"You're just going to make me sleep in it, aren't you…?" he shivered as he curled into Stephen, feeling the stickiness between his legs get cold.

"Got a problem with that?" Stephen hummed playfully, nestling in against Tony like he was a personal heating system.

"Well yeah, can't you use your magic to clean me up?" Tony curled up against Stephen, arms around his midsection letting out a deep sigh.

"Mmmm-nope!" Stephen pressed his chin to Tony's forehead.

"Can't, or won't?"

"Yes."

"Stephen," Tony let out an unamused sigh, trying to pull away and not having much luck with that either. Stephen waved a hand, the least of all things bringing a towel over to Tony with the man was able to get one arm free to wipe himself down.

"You fuss way too much."

"And you give me reasons to fuss too much."

"Fair enough."

The cloak arrived with breakfast not five minutes later, though judging by its tepid nature Tony could only assume the sentient article of clothing had chosen to wait until they were done before bringing their meal. Omelettes with remarkably thinly cut potatoes that had crisped up, lightly salted and both covered in some kind of cheese sauce…

“There’s a lot of cheese,” he stated, staring at the dish before noticing the cloak move as though affronted. “No, it’s fine! I love cheese! I just think I might need to buy more cheese.”

The cloak’s collar nodded in response to that, and Tony chuckled a little. “I don’t suppose there’s coffee?” He could smell coffee, but he couldn’t see any, which was plenty hint enough. The cloak disappeared in a flash and Tony smiled.

“Honestly, it’s like a really helpful puppy,” he mused to his lover, and Stephen raised an eyebrow at him, his mouth already full of food.

“Or a person.”

"Right - person," Tony sat up, sighing as he wormed his way out of Stephen's grasp. "I need to wash my hands..." 

He plodded off to the ensuite, quickly cleaning his hands before bringing Stephen a washcloth as well and tossing it at his head. Tony slid back into bed and pulled the dish up, taking a few bites and putting the fork down before giving Stephen an odd look.

"What's wrong, you don't like it?"

"No, I'm a little upset that your cloak can cook better than me."

"Jealousy isn't a good colour on you, Tony," Stephen prodded him with the edge of the fork and the cloak came back with a piping hot cup of coffee not long after.

"I know, it's red, or you," Tony sidled up next to him, cradling the hot mug in his hands as he enjoyed the moment, letting out a soft sigh.

“Well, luckily for both of us the cloak can cook. And so can Happy. So neither of us will starve,” the sorcerer smiled as he ate a little more, leaning in against Tony and watching the cloak rest over their legs, happily basking in the praise. “Because I’m also kinda a shit cook and if we were left to ourselves, we probably would starve.”

“Speak for yourself. I have money - I can order food, or go to restaurants.”

“So you’d let me starve?”

“Never. And luckily this isn’t something we have to worry about, since our little red friend here is apparently quite the chef,” Tony smiled, taking another bite before petting the cloak cheerfully and letting it curl around his hand to show its pleasure with the praise.

“Once we’re finished breakfast I’ll get you some painkillers and we can cuddle and snooze a little longer, what do you say?”

“Can we have a bath and then a snooze?” Tony inquired with a mouth full of omelette. Stephen’s lips quirked into a small smile.

“Only because you’re too cute to say no to.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are! Dreams & Fantasies has come to an end! Thank you all so much for reading this one! This piece definitely turned out much sweeter and more elaborate than the original idea had been, but I suppose that's always the perk of writing with someone! Ideas growing and changing!
> 
> In any case, we hope you've all enjoyed this piece. Normally this would be where we announce the fic coming next, but due to things that have been going on lately (like one of us losing our glasses and being unable to do much in the way of writing and editing) we're a little behind schedule. So we'll be taking at least a week off before we start posting again on Fridays - we have many ideas to go through and sort out before we can announce which one we're planning to do next. If you are waiting for that announcement, you can keep an eye on our Twitter accounts where we're more likely to announce what the next short story will be.
> 
> Thank you all once again! The enthusiasm of readers is always such a great motivator. 🥰
> 
> This story was co-written by two authors from start to finish. You can find us on Twitter:  

> 
> [Amy (Foxglove)](https://twitter.com/marvelwizardmom)  
[Astral (Bravehardt)](https://twitter.com/Kraionis)


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